It's the fourth largest city in the state of Idaho. But it's a population of about 65,000 people. And a lot of people remember if they do stop through there, the wonderful river going through town and the beautiful falls that are there. So tell us more about it.īear Prairie: Yeah, it definitely ends up being a recreation corridor certainly in the summer being in the entry point into Yellowstone because you can access the Yellowstone National Park through a couple of different ways from Idaho Falls, so it ends up being a nice stopover point. I've actually flown into it twice, once on a very small plane, and I've driven through it and out through, I suppose that's Wyoming. I'm excited to be here.Ĭhristopher Mitchell: Bear, let's start with you, and tell us a little bit about the Idaho Falls area. Welcome to the show.Ĭhristopher Mitchell: We also have a returning guest, Kim McKinley, the Chief Marketing Officer for UTOPIA in Utah. We're talking today to Bear Prairie, the general manager of Idaho Falls Power and Fiber. Now here's Christopher talking with Kim McKinley and Bear Prairie.Ĭhristopher Mitchell: Welcome to another episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. We learn more about the process community leaders pursued to be sure residents were interested in fiber to the home service, a little about how they select ISPs to operate on the publicly owned infrastructure, and the advantages the network has brought to the electric utility. They discuss the partnership, the pilot project, and the decision to expand the use of the fiber that has served Idaho Falls for years. In this interview, Christopher talks with Bear Prairie from Idaho Falls Power and Fiber, and Kim McKinley who's representing UTOPIA Fiber. They've enlisted UTOPIA Fiber to help them with the process in order to ensure the success of their open access approach. In October 2019, Idaho Falls city leaders decided to move ahead with a plan to expand the municipal fiber network to residents citywide. Lisa Gonzalez: Welcome to episode 390 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast from the Institute for Local Self Reliance. The song is Warm Duck Shuffle and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.īear Prairie: It's one of those things of if you build it, create the awareness and understanding, it starts to snowball. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance here. Listen to other episodes here or view all episodes in our index. We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below. This show is 38 minutes long and can be played on this page or via Apple Podcasts or the tool of your choice using this feed. For both partners, the project has opened doors. Kim explains how, as an organization that aims to increase success for open access networks, UTOPIA Fiber was unsure what the future held in working with a community in Idaho, when the communities they serve had all been in Utah. Bear talks about some of the cost saving construction techniques the utility used, how they determined they wanted a partnership model, and the benefits the fiber network has garnered. For both the city and for UTOPIA Fiber, this project is a new venture. Our guests talk about the long process that led to their decision to work together and how they gauged interest from the Idaho Falls community. The project began with a pilot project but interest from the Idaho Falls community has proven that many people in the community want in on Internet connectivity from their municipal utility. This week, General Manager of Idaho Falls Power and Fiber Bear Prairie and Chief Marketing Officer of UTOPIA Fiber Kim McKinley join Christopher to discuss the partnership. Now, the community is working with UTOPIA Fiber to expand the network in order to serve all premises with Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH). Idaho Falls has had publicly owned fiber within the community for years, but until recently, limited its use to dark fiber leases and public power purposes.
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