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Fiber to the Gas Station
Selling pickaxes to miners is one way to cash in on a gold rush. In the modern-day gold rush that is the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota, existing businesses and new businesses are booming thanks to the oil drilling frenzy (some estimate 2,000 wells will be drilled this year). One of the big challenges…
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A Cooperative Smart Grid Infrastructure
Cooperation among infrastructure providers, particularly in rural areas, offers a potential for improving efficiency and creating the opportunity for new revenue sources. In this interview, Ralph Dunn of McMinnville Electric System, describes the combination Wi-Fi and fiber network that is the underpinning of the nascent McMinnville Electric System Smart Grid. As Dunn suggests, this network promises…
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The Community Movie Theater
Everett Christensen talks about the importance of a movie theater in drawing together the people in this small midwestern town. Christensen is the namesake for the local communications company and is a leader in his community, as evidenced by the way he revived this Madelia, Minnesota landmark. This theater is one of the reasons that…
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Award Winning Economic Development
Everett Christensen of Christensen Communications explains four of the things his company did to improve the community his company serves. By being part of the community, he sees the needs and is continually striving to improve the quality of life for his fellow Madelia, MN citizens. As a result, his company won the 2011 Minnesota…
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Powering Telecom Progress
Power is a critical element to a reliable communications network. This may be even more so in rural areas, compared to urban areas, as the economics of a rural build don’t support multiple last mile networks and the physics of a rural area often don’t allow wireless communications. Nowhere is this more evident than at…
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Learning Communities Within a High School
Designed around five small learning interests, Colleton County High School in Walterboro, South Carolina is a different kind of high school. Cliff Warren, Colleton County High School’s principal, talks about the unique design of this campus, as well as its academic approach of preparing students for career and college. With five schools within a school, it…
