‘Net neutrality‘ is a value that helps to make the internet so valuable as a democratic and level playing field of ideas for one and all — including those of us who use the world wide web or bring services and information to the public as BCB does.

In a week when internet users across the country are taking action on July 12th to show that our current national policy of net neutrality continues to be desirable, BCB wanted to reach out to the manager who oversees Kitsap Public Utility District’s public broadband activities to get his take.

In this podcast, we meet Paul Avis, who is the superintendent of the KPUD department that has constructed and maintains our public high speed fiber optic internet backbone on Bainbridge Island and in other parts of our county. That backbone construction started over 15 years ago. KPUD makes their wholesale broadband services available to governmental, commercial and residential users through a variety of independent internet service provider (ISP) retailers.

In this podcast, Paul describes KPUD’s approach to offering high-speed broadband connectivity on a nonprofit basis to the community (including to our new building at BARN). And he answers questions about net neutrality from BCB host Barry Peters.

BCB asked these questions this month to coincide with the national Net Neutrality Day of Action on Wednesday July 12th. On that day, internet users and web communicators as small as local bloggers, popular YouTube video makers and the Electronic Frontier Foundation — and as large as Netflix, Amazon, Google and Facebook — are urging our national government to preserve the FCC’s existing policy of net neutrality rather than succumb to calls from big telecom and cable companies to de-regulate them.

For more information, visit this website for the Net Neutrality Day of Action.

For more information about KPUD’s local public broadband backbone and willingness to serve more neighborhoods and business parks, visit KPUD’s webpage about their local communications network and broadband services.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.