Deborah Simpier, co-founder, and CEO of Althea, sits down with the GCP guys for this episode. Althea is a new way to access broadband internet that enables network growth through a unique revenue sharing system. Althea was founded in 2017 with the vision to bring the open market and interoperable peering from the data center to the field and empowering communities to build multi-stakeholder networks faster and more affordable than legacy telecom models.
01:51 – Justin shares where listeners can listen GCP live, the Tacoma background noises that come with recording at the Union Club, and introduces Deborah. Justin talks the local buzz in the news about her company, Deborah talks about the start of the business, and the frustration she experienced with internet service in rural areas. She talks about the “meet me room” in the internet exchange, where the idea came from, and the license spectrum behind LTE.
12:37 – Scott talks about what he likes about short wave radio, Justin talks about losing cell service in the last power outage, and the issue with internet costs. They talk about the importance of having the internet as a service, Deborah talks about the company's pivot points due to technology changes, and Scott gives props to the magazine 2600. They talk about the rules behind only accepting credit/debit payments, how the cannabis industry is strictly cash, and Deborah talks about the company using crypto as their backbone.
25:12 – They share their love of the mead Justin brought back from his recent trip, Deborah talks about why she wanted to provide a better system of ISP service, and Justin talks about places that would benefit from her service. Justin and Scott talk about their experience with the internet in rural areas, Deborah talks about how people can sign up for the service, and their partner program for those interested in bringing the service to their area. She shares that there are an insufficient number of ISP’s in the US, Jeff asks a coaster question, and Deborah talks about setting up internet service in Nigeria.
38:24 – Deborah talks about wanting to have a more resilient system, the ultimate vision of the architecture, and they discuss the value of everything. She talks about the transparency behind their system, the flexibility users have with the service, and the importance of user choice behind their service. Deborah talks about building a network in Columbia and Jeff talks about why audio is still important.
Thanks, Deborah, for joining GCP to share the awesome unique service your company is providing!
Special Guest: Deborah Simpier.