Connected Nation
This is Connected Nation – an award-winning podcast focused on all things broadband. From closing the Digital Divide to simply improving your internet speeds, we talk technology topics that impact all of us, our families, and our communities. The podcast was honored in 2024 with an Award of Excellence for Podcast Series - Technology. This is the highest honor given by the Communicator Awards. More recently, the podcast received an Award of Distinction in 2025. It received the same honor in 2023 and 2022. Learn more about the national nonprofit behind this podcast at connectednation.org.
Episodes
On this episode of Connected Nation, we talk with leadership from Mac Mountain.
A recently launched company that's taking a unique approach to expanding broadband by helping other businesses grow.
Listen and find out how the model works and what led to this non-traditional approach to expanding access to more homes and businesses.
Recommended links:
On this episode of Connected Nation, we talk with Bree Maki, Executive Director,, Office of Broadband Development, Minnesota. She explains why the state was already well on its way to connecting everyone *before* BEAD.
Plus, we find out what state broadband leaders across the country are sharing with one another AND learn about the unique challenges of building out broadband in the land of 10,000 lakes.
Recommended ...
On this episode of Connected Nation, we begin our coverage from Calix ConneXions 2025, taking place in Las Vegas Nevada.
We talk with Jacob Smithee, the Director of IT from a Co-op in Alabama, about the challenges of bringing high speed internet to extremely rural areas. Plus we find out what he hopes for connectivity in his state and how his company recently helped the Navajo Nation with a completely different proble...
On this episode of Connected Nation, we're joined by a special guest who has spent nearly a decade researching the Digital Divide and meeting many of those who are directly impacted by it.
Find out what Dr. Christopher Ali is working on now AND the claim he says many broadband leaders need to stop making now or risk creating more harm.
Recommended links:
Get "Farm Fresh Broadband: The Politics...
On this episode of Connected Nation, we talk to a father and son team who rep a host of manufacturers in the broadband space. Find out how their model fills the needs of a wide range of companies, programs, and projects.
Recommended links:
Communications Marketing Systems - https://superrep.com/
Ken Lazear (dad) and Jake Lazear (son)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-lazear-586a20149/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ja...
On this episode of Connected Nation, we ask what the Danish can do to help build out broadband in America? I talk to a rep with Lynddahl Telecom about the product they're now manufacturing in the US to do just that.
Recommended links:
Pete Spehr, SVP of Sales, Lynddahl Telecom America - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-spehr-0437042/
On this special edition of Connected Nation, we head back to Wichita, Kansas one last time for the AI Interconnection Summit, which took place on Thursday, September 11th.
This time we talk with leadership from Stevens Fiber Group and Moonshot Energy about what they do, why Kansas is on their radar, and the reason this summit was their can't miss event.
Recommended links:
AI Interconnection Summit website
On this special edition of Connected Nation, we head BACK to Wichita, Kansas for an AI Interconnection Summit.
This time, we talk with the woman many credit with greenlighting the FIRST EVER Internet Exchange Point in Kansas and with one CEO who is going to help make it a reality.
Recommended links:
AI Interconnection Summit website
On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from Mountain Connect 2025 as we sit down with broadband entrepreneur Scott Sampson, CEO of Blueprint Broadband and founder of Light Craft and Mac Mountain to talk about the fast-changing tech landscape.
Hear how his ventures are supporting ISPs with financing, operations, and shared services and why collaboration is the key to closing the Digital Divide.
Re...
On this special edition of Connected Nation, we head to Wichita, Kansas for a first-of-its-kind event – an AI Interconnection Summit.
We begin our coverage with Ivo Ivanov - the CEO of DE-CIX - one of the world’s biggest names when it comes to internet infrastructure.
Find out why he felt it was critical to travel to America’s heartland for the summit, what his company is doing there in the long term, and why what’s h...
On this episode of Connected Nation, we are joined by the leadership at the Range, which is short for regional accelerator and new growth engine.
Learn how the organization is focusing on creating incredible innovation for everything from energy and food production to workforce development and healthcare in one of the most rural places in America - the Texas Panhandle.
Recommended Links:
What makes Fort Collins’ community-owned internet one of the best ISPs in the nation? Find out from their Broadband Executive Director on this latest episode of the Connected Nation podcast.
Join us as we sit down with Chad Crager to discuss how this city-built network is redefining customer service, digital inclusion, and the future of broadband.
Recommended Links:
On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from Mountain Connect 2025 as we sit down with Connected Nation's very own Brent Legg, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs. We discuss the one-of-a-kind Connected Nation Internet Exchange Point (IXP) joint venture with Newby Ventures and why it's so important for the future of connectivity.
Learn about the latest policy and infrastructure ...
On this episode of Connected Nation, host Jessica Denson talks with Mike Miller, Broadband Practice Leader at HDR—a 107-year-old company that recently entered the broadband space.
Discover how HDR is leveraging its Matrix model to tackle complex challenges, from Dig Once initiatives to the rapid demand for data centers nationwide.
Learn why open access networks, middle-mile redundancy, and forward-thinking infrastructu...
On this episode of Connected Nation, recorded live at Mountain Connect 2025 in Denver, Colorado, host Jessica Denson sits down with Osmo’s Troy Cross, Vice President of Sales, and Sadie Conley, Demand Generation Specialist.
Osmo powers “frictionless support” for industry giants like AT&T, Google, and Verizon—helping customers resolve device issues quickly and easily.
Now, they’re turning their attention to smaller ...
On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from Mountain Connect 2025 as we sit down with Angela Siefer, Executive Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA). We discuss the origins and mission of NDIA, the evolving landscape of digital equity, and how AI is shaping the next Digital Divide.
Learn about the importance of local digital navigators, the role of ISPs and tech companies, a...
On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from Mountain Connect 2025 with two women from Colorado State University Pueblo—Dana Lambert, Director of Digital Equity, and Juliann Sandoval, Digital Navigator.
Their program is closing the digital divide across southern Colorado by providing free laptops, broadband access, and personalized digital skills training to students, seniors, veterans, and others...
On this episode of Connected Nation, we kick off our Mountain Connect 2025 coverage from Denver, Colorado.
Jessica Denson sits down with Jerry Smith, Broadband Manager for Los Alamos County, New Mexico. The conversation dives into how his county is deploying an innovative open access fiber network, partnering with a sovereign tribal nation, and improving middle-mile redundancy in a remote but tech-savvy area.
Recommen...
On this episode of Connected Nation, we wrap up our coverage from the 2025 Broadband Communities Summit in Houston, Texas.
Telecommunications legal expert Philip Macres breaks down the new BEAD rules—what’s good, what’s bad, and what’s uncertain—as states prepare for fast-moving deadlines and funding decisions.
Then we sit down with Megan Steckly, CEO of Compudopt, this year’s National Digital Divide Award winner, to ...
In this special bonus episode of Connected Nation, we take you straight to the heart of the action on the exhibit floor at the Broadband Communities Summit.
Join us as we explore the buzz around Interduct.com — the booth everyone was talking about. Discover why it captured so much attention.
Recommended Links:
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