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, 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 infrastructure planning ar...
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 ISPs, offering...
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, and why digital...
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 in need.
Learn...
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.
Recommended Links:
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 hear how her n...
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:
On this episode, we’re reporting from the Broadband Communities Summit in Houston, Texas, where we sit down with Molly Weiner, Director of Local and Regional Planning for Connected Nation.
Molly shares insights from a new telehealth study focused on seven rural counties in northwest Colorado, conducted in partnership with Colorado’s eHealth Innovation Office.
We explore why many residents still aren’t using telehealth, what’s holdin...
On this episode of Connected Nation, we've got some bonus coverage from the Broadband Community Summit. We talk with Drew Pappas from Bonfire Infrastructure Group on how they help communities, coops, Tribes, and others build open networks across the country.
Recommended links:
Bonfire Website
Guest's LinkedIn - Drew Pappas
On this episode of Connected Nation, we sit down with two representatives from Cogent Communications. We discuss the evolution of data centers, talk about Cogent's work globally, and find out what it's like being the Internet Service Provider of Internet Service Providers.
Recommended links:
Cogent website
Guests' LinkedIn: Jeff Reinis and Craig Grace
In this episode of Connected Nation, host Jessica Denson continues coverage from the 2025 Broadband Communities Summit in Houston.
First, she sits down with Dawn Intili of DirecTV, who breaks down how the company is reshaping its services for the modern streaming era and expanding into multifamily dwellings with flexible, cost-effective options.
Then, Jessica chats with Scott Garnder and Duane Lyons of Dura-Line, who explain how fi...
In this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from the Broadband Communities Summit in Houston, Texas.
Jessica Denson speaks with Tyler Dempsey and Shelby Smith of Sonar Software about what sets their OSS/BSS platform apart in a rapidly changing industry—and why launching their new podcast “Bandwidth” is part of building stronger connections.
Later, we hear from Adeyinka O. Ogunlegan, Chief of Staff and VP of Federal...
On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage live from the Broadband Community Summit in Houston, Texas.
We talk with Heather Gate, Executive Vice President of Digital Transformation for Connected Nation about the summit and the topic she's focused on. But as you'll hear, things didn't quite go as we'd planned. I like to call this one. You never know who you're gonna meet when you're w...
On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from the Broadband Community Summit, and we talk with the president and CEO of MCNC, about its role connecting schools and healthcare facilities across North Carolina.
We also talk about the importance of middle mile infrastructure and the high stakes of an upcoming court decision.
Recommended Links:
Today we begin our in-depth coverage of the Broadband Communities Summit taking place in Houston, Texas.
On this episode of Connected Nation, we talk with Joseph Wender, Executive Director of the SHLB Coalition about what's happening this week to critical funding that's used to connect our nation's schools and libraries.
UPDATE: On June 27, the Supreme Court upheld the program in a 6-3 decision
Recommended Links:
Why does workplace energy matter — and how can we build it?
Dana Spencer, known as “The Energy Expert,” joins us to share how she’s helping organizations revitalize employee productivity, morale, and team dynamics using her Five S framework.
From remote work boundaries to self-awareness and the power of a simple smile, this episode will leave you feeling recharged.
Recommended Links:
On this episode of Connected Nation, we talk with a representative from the Broadband Communities Summit about the topics and speakers attendees can expect in Houston, Texas — and why now is a critical time to come together.
Find out what Brad Randall has to say about the new BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment) rules—and how Total Telecom is involved in the Broadband Communities Summit.
Recommended Links:
On this episode of Connected Nation, we sit down with Bill Baker, CEO of Nextlink Internet, to explore how this Texas-based provider is leading the charge in expanding broadband across 12 states—serving some of the country’s most rural and underserved communities.
Baker shares the extraordinary origin story of Nextlink, explains what “radical, organic growth” means, and unpacks the company’s unique approach to fiber and fixed wirele...
On this episode of Connected Nation, we’re diving into proposed changes to the federal E-rate program — and what those changes could mean for schools, libraries, and the millions of students who rely on internet access to learn.
Our guest, Mark Colwell, Director of Broadband Operations at Mission Telecom, brings years of experience in federal and state broadband policy to the table. He explains how efforts to scale back E-Rate fundi...
Hurricane season is here — and it’s expected to be one of the most active on record. In this episode of Connected Nation, we sit down with three industry leaders who know exactly what it takes to keep people online before, during, and after a disaster.
Together, they unpack real lessons from 2024’s devastating Hurricane Helene, including how to prepare for outages, deploy emergency Wi-Fi, and coordinate with first responders — and w...
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