Share

Light Reading Podcasts
Ting's take on BEAD and fiber investments for economic development
Season 3
•
Amol S. Naik, SVP of public policy and community engagement for Ting Internet at Tucows, joins the podcast to discuss how fiber infrastructure is shaping economic development in Ting's service areas. Naik also provides an update on Ting's role as the anchor tenant for an open access broadband network in Colorado Springs and shares his forecast for how the rollout of BEAD funding will go.
Here are a few topics we covered:
- Background on Ting and the areas the Internet service provider serves (00:42)
- Economic impact of fiber broadband deployments (2:59)
- Broadband is becoming a key amenity in communities nationwide in the US (4:44)
- Update on Ting's involvement as the anchor tenant in an open access broadband network in Colorado Springs (6:47)
- Impact of fiber investments on smart cities and carbon emissions (8:38)
- Opportunities and challenges states face in applying for BEAD funding (11:07)
More episodes
View all episodes

Unpacking 6G with Omdia's Gabriel Brown
38:11||Season 1Omdia's Gabriel Brown joined the Signal Strength podcast to discuss and dissect Qualcomm's '6G Leadership Day,' which dug into emerging use cases, potential moneymakers and anticipated product timelines.
The Divide: Why digital inclusion needs a new funding model
32:57||Season 6This week: Connect Humanity's Samantha Schartman and Mission Telecom's Mark Colwell discuss their 'Alt Funding Field Guide,' which explores a new approach to co-investing in digital adoption initiatives focusing on six sectors.
Policy, tech and convergence to collide at The Independent Show
50:50||Season 1NCTC's Lou Borrelli and ACA Connects' Grant Spellmeyer hop on the podcast to preview The Independent Show, set for July 26-29 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, which will dig into top policy issues and tech trends for small and midsized operators.
The Divide: SHLB's Joey Wender on the fight to save E-Rate
25:26||Season 6This week: Joey Wender, executive director of the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB), joins to discuss the FCC's 'war on the E-Rate program' and what advocates can do to help save it.
The Divide: NDIA's Angela Siefer on the fight to restore the Digital Equity Act
27:34||Season 6This week: NDIA's Angela Siefer returns to the podcast to discuss what's happened in the digital inclusion space since the Digital Equity Act was 'ended' by President Trump last year as well as ongoing efforts to restore funding.
The Divide: Gigi Sohn on how to defeat opponents of public broadband
28:42||Season 6This week: Gigi Sohn discusses how 'dark money' defeated a public broadband plan in Longmeadow, Mass., why anti-muni-broadband efforts work in some towns but not others and why grassroots buy-in is key to public broadband success.
The Divide: How permitting problems delay broadband builds
31:27||Season 6This week: Execs with Brightspeed, Ziply Fiber and CentraCom discuss the biggest problems with broadband permitting; how inconsistent timelines, requirements and costs cause deployment delays; and what reforms are most needed.
Wireless Infrastructure Association CEO braces for the AI and 6G era
34:31||Season 1Patrick Halley, the president and CEO of the Wireless Infrastructure Association, discusses the top trends in the industry and how AI and 6G are poised to come together.
The Divide: Blair Levin on 30 years of the Telecom Act and what must come next
34:59||Season 6Former FCC official Blair Levin joins the podcast to discuss BEAD program updates and how the federal government can best prepare for the future of connectivity and AI as we mark 30 years of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.