From GigaZone to GigaTechXpo - A Conversation with Gary Johnson About Its 4/22/23 Tech Expo Event

Overview of Paul Bunyan Communications and the Northern Minnesota region it serves. Paul Bunyan Communications has been a leader in the communications industry really since its inception in the early 1950s. Oh, my gosh. I met Gary around the year 2000 when they were bringing high speed Internet out to remote areas using any technology they could, using fiber in combination with VDSL. And then they transitioned to fiber to the home. And they were one of the first in the country to have full fiber to the home in an area that's almost the size of the Bay Area. And now in the last decade, they've taken that network and created some really interesting opportunities for their communities. And we're going to talk about one of those opportunities today. So, Gary, why don't you tell us about the tech expo that you're doing in a couple of months. Johnson provides an overview of the GigaZone TechXpo and the technology opportunities afforded by companies and institutions in its service territory. Yeah, the TechXpois we're branding it the GigaZone TechXpo. Of course, GigaZone is as our gigabit Internet service. That has become a really good, strong brand for us. We have GigaZone Gaming, but we've added on now this TechXpo, which is a regional technology showcase. This will be our first one in April and it's really about empowering the youth and job seekers and everybody in our region who have technical skills and maybe they think they're just a gamer, but we're going to expose them not only gaming but also training opportunities related to technology through area institutions, colleges, universities, high schools, technology, school or tech schools. And then also after you get that training jobs right here in our region at startup companies, they have great stories to tell, very establish companies are using innovative technologies. And so we're trying to bring them all here, the technology enthusiasts. At the same time, we're going to surround them by training and employment opportunities, whether they intended to, you know, be exposed to that or not. We're going to do a little head fake on them because I think it can be super impactful to particularly I see the youth in our area who have more skills than they realize, but probably don't see themselves as technology professionals or maybe they don't understand their training employment opportunities right out their back door. And there are the totally are and we want to bring all of that together. Gamers develop skills that are useful for various technology roles. Johnson points out that often gamers don’t realize the value of these skills to employers. One of the goals of TechXpo is to expose their skills. Gaming is often criticized for a lot of reasons, but there are sure are a lot of great skills it develops, right? Absolutely. And, you know, at our last event, we had 4,000 people attend on site for gaming. And it's just crazy. And the really cool thing about it is it really it resonated with all demographics in our service territory. You know, there's a lot of things we do where, you know, different groups are maybe under-represented in our events. Well, this one really strikes a note with everybody. And so the people we see there are the people we serve and the people that live in our area, regardless of their backgrounds or their, you know, economics or whatever it is, whatever challenges there are, they're all there. So we're going to take that group. And yes, you're right, gaming really is creating it professionals, whether they know it or not. You think about them building their own systems and they know all about video cards and encoding and they know video technologies and they know gaming and processing and peripherals and well, I mean, these are I.T. professional skills and they don't maybe realize it. So we want to tap into that. Yeah, I mean, maybe they're managing their own Minecraft server or something, right? For sure. Yeah. They're building servers and networks and very impressive things. This is a great way to demonstrate the speed and low latency of an all-fiber, gigabit+ network. Well, and I've heard, too, that some of the folks who come here are kind of jealous that they're not on your network because of the low latency and the high speeds. Well, there is a marketing angle to this as well as a provider. It is a great opportunity for us to show off our network and our our fiber network, the low latency, as you say, the very high bandwidth that is really everywhere across our 6,000 square miles we serve. Yes, it is a great showcase for that. And we have had very good examples of that where maybe gamers from outside our network come on and they're impressed with what they're seeing. The other thing, we really run our entire event on the same equipment and capability that we put in everyone's home. So, I mean, it's it's a great showcase for that as well. It also presents an opportunity for economic development and Johnson explains how they are working with economic development agencies in Bemidji and Grand Rapids, MN to promote their region. And from a economic development standpoint, I know you guys work really closely with Dave over at the Greater Brisbane Economic Development. This has got to be a great opportunity just to bring the various entities together and showcase what you're doing. It is in fact, we're partnering really close with Dave here in the Bemidji region for us on economic development, as well as our partners in our Grand Rapids region, about 75 miles the east where we have another office and another staff and what have you. Yes, it is a big advantage for him and for us to work together on this, as we do with economic development all the time. I mean, this really is you think of startups and he's working so hard to create or work with you. Think about the incumbent companies that are here that are trying to find staff, particularly technical, you know, technical oriented staff. We are, in a sense, delivering those to these businesses that are going to be part of our textbook. So they'll be exposed to potential employees, and I think that's huge for them. It's an opportunity that we haven't seen in this part of the state or maybe even statewide quite like this. This is an opportunity for employers, whether they are within or outside the region, to find qualified local or telework employees. From a remote work standpoint, too, I would imagine there would be employers would be really interested in in the workforce, in the workforce development efforts. You bring in the fact that they can easily remote in to anywhere else in the world, right from your location. Yeah. Yeah. We all learned that during COVID, correct? I mean, where you see more and more home based work. In fact, we've we've done a lot of work in that area with Dave and other economic development agencies on recruiting. teleworkers Because we have the network that can support it so well regardless of where they live in our territory. So yes, absolutely. While this is an advantage for those companies right here in this area to potentially get exposed to potential employees, the same goes for really anyone who can tap into that resource of a lot of employees with technical skills that live in an area that has great network technology so they can telework very effectively. Based on the previous GigaZone Gaming Championships, it will be a high-energy, exciting event. Johnson would like it to be like the Eureka Innovation Zone at CES. From a conference perspective, won't you tell us a little bit about it? I mean, we always unfortunately we didn't see each other this year at CES, but you're always going to CES. And and is it going to have that kind of excitement or you know what? What's the agenda? Yeah, this is going to be just like CES in every way scale. There's going to be 175,000 people here. 4,000? No, it won't quite be there. But I do dream of this being our mini-CES in this region. I really do. It's exactly what we're after. And if you think, as you say, we both have gone to CES many times, there's a particular area where they put startup companies and where they bring along also universities and university students who are showcasing their technology so that that kind of startup community area, that wing of CES that in particular, I think is what we're trying to have here, where it really brings all those folks together. And it's high energy, it's exciting, and at the same time it'll be happening concurrently with our big gaming event, right, which is just naturally loud and fun and busy and exciting. So I yeah, I really do hope this is the mini CES of Minnesota. Well, that's fun. The Eureka Innovation Zone, I think is what you're talking about. And that's. That's is one. One of my favorites. That's right. That's my favorite spot. See us always Yeah. There and from. Picture that here Yeah. One of the educational institutions they are working with is Bemidji State. I do and Bemidji State is right there so I assume you're working pretty closely with them. We are, Yeah. I met with the university president and their staff is really engaged, and it's great because the first conversation, they would naturally think, Well, let's send over our recruiter who goes to job fairs. Right? And actually, that's great, but that's not what we're looking for. I want your students here that are showing technical projects that they're they're doing right now, hands on. Great to have the other folks here, too. But I really want you to show your stuff. And we're going to give them a very large area. They're going to be a particular partner of ours, of course, naturally. And so they're going to they're going to really walk the walk in terms of showing off technology. They'll have it also information about their programs. But yeah, we have a very big corner of our facility kind of carved out for Bemidji. That's excellent. Beyond being the keynote speaker, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is expected to be wandering the exhibits and the gaming areas. Johnson notes that education and learning are close to Woz’s heart. We'd be remiss if we didn't speak about your keynote speaker. Who is your keynote speaker? It's a guy who co-founded Apple, Steve Wozniak. That was you know, we were fortunate to, during COVID, have him for a live virtual event. So we did a via Zoom. I was like a fanboy, you know, just kind of beside myself, trying to work my way through an interview, which I'm not an interviewer professionally, but boy, that was so much fun. We talked for about 30 minutes and our business members of our cooperative all could be part of that event. And it went so well. He said so many nice things about us and he was talking about the struggles he has in your very area getting viable Internet. And you know, the point the point stuff he's trying to install and and what he learned about what we're doing, particularly our our our mission orientation as a cooperative. I think he really bought into what we do and the why of what we do and how we do it, you know, in our small scale rural, but yet very effective. And I think it resonated with him. And so that kind of came through in that interview. And then subsequently, as we're now planning this much larger expo, was textbook for, as we've been discussing, we were thinking, Boy, it'd be great to have a keynote speaker that we'll insert into this, you know, technology showcase and gaming event and all that. And we immediately thought of him and thought, Oh, how cool would that be? That we could actually have him onsite here in northern Minnesota. And so we reached out to him and, you know, normally I think we would struggle to get somebody of his caliber, you know, is just an icon in our everything about our industry. And it but because he understands our story, in fact, he's talked about our story at other events. We've heard about it through the grapevine where he's mentioned his broadband struggles and how everyone should have Paul Bunyan Communications. They're like, wow, my head explodes when you hear those things. But because he kind of understood our story in our DNA, we reached out to him again and he's just willing to do it. You know, he's he's he's, I don't know, really tried to work with us to make it happen. So, yes, he will be here. We're excited about that. He'll be not only doing another interview on the main stage in the arena with me this time instead of Zoom, but he also is going to roam the show floor. So we'll get to have students and exhibitors just bump into Steve Wozniak on the show floor. And then, you know, he is a he is a gamer. Way back, he he wrote Breakout for Atari. Right. And so he's got that DNA as well. And plus, he also has a real soft spot for students and teaching and learning and sharing what he knows and his experience. So this is that really fits really well with this. What I understand is kind of what makes him tick as well. So having him roam the floor and meet students and talk to exhibitors and companies and I couldn't be more excited about that part. Gary provides the backstory on his backdrop, which is a kind of living museum. The backdrop also signifies another connection to Woz. Well, and I've been blessed many times in Silicon Valley just kind of running across him at various things. And one of the events was a couple of IEEE history meetings. And and this is the segue way to that part of the conversation. Look, in your backdrop, you've got one of the most unusual backdrops I've seen because it's kind of like a little history museum back there. So I don't know if you want to start with the tree or maybe end up with a keyboard that I believe you still use. Well, the tree is a story. It is not maybe the most attractive plant that's ever been in anybody's backdrop, but it's the see what I had in my dorm like 30, gosh, 36 years ago or something. So it's been with me the whole run from, you know, moving into college. I bought it like, you know, Home Depot or something. It's probably like this big, but it's been in every dorm room and apartment I've ever had. So, I mean, it's kind of part of the family now. So it's still here. It's like growing through my roof. But that's another story. But this guy here is a yeah, I do have a little soft spot for that. That is an Apple, II. Plus, I bought it as a junior in high school when I, you know, every dollar I earned through summer and fall, just all the chips in and bought this thing. But it is you know I do kind of attribute my career in a bit to just that I don't know the excitement I had about this guy and learning to program and just what it could do and you know, this is back in 1982, as you and I bought this thing, this crazy thing is it still works. The programs I wrote in high school and early college days and there's the floppy disk still work. I don't know how that's possible. You would think it would all be dust by now. You've got to show it to Woz when he's out here., out there? Yeah. Yeah, well, I will. So when we had our virtual event with him, I had that in the backdrop. Excellent. He has since I mailed the cover to him and he signed it for me. So it's now my autographed Apple, II. Plus, yeah, I am kind of a fan of that way, but no know, it just means a lot, you know? For his, “significant contributions to their professional fields and communities and are at the peak of their professional careers,” is the recipient of a 2022 Minnesota State University at Moorhead Distinguished Alumni Award. As he points out in the article about his award, he was the 23rd employee and the only computer programmer for what was then a traditional telephone cooperative. In a sense, this mirrors the transition that moved the telco industry to all-IP networks. And you personally, I mean, you kind of are kind of a new generation of for the telco in general, right. In the sense that you came up through computers versus coming up through the telephone world. And that's obviously influenced the way things have gone in the industry, you know, to this all fiber, all IP network. And, you know, I never got a chance to formally congratulate you, but you received a big honor in the fall from your university, as I recall. I did, Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, that was Minnesota State University Moorhead, where I got my undergrad degree in computer science. So learning on that guy, right? Yeah, that started it all for me. And they were gracious enough to honor me for certainly not my academic prowess because that did not exist. But for things that have gone on since then, career wise and community wise, which is it was great. Johnson credits his predecessor and the board for sticking their neck out to build fiber, “because they knew it was important.” Yeah, well, it's great to see what you guys have done and just the way you know, you think, Well, it's done, you've got fiber built, but no, it's not. You can keep going and make it even bigger and bigger. Well. And that's just the point. You know, the leadership before me, before I took over CEO Paul Freude and our four and our board members, some are still here somewhere have changed over, but they really stuck their neck out and invested heavily. You know, we haven't put anything in the ground that isn't fiber since 2004. So I mean, we've been doing this a long time. What that means is in 2014 we had fiber everywhere and can launch. Our GigaZone gigabit symmetrical service. That's because, you know, folks prior to me had that coverage and took on a lot of debt and just made it happen because they knew it was important. So to your point, you're not done Now, now's a fun time because, you know, I just think about why we have this network, this extremely capable network that our members and other programs have invested in. What can we be doing with this thing? You know, how can we fully leverage it, which is I think that's what keeps me awake now, is just there's such an opportunity. What can we do with it beyond the obvious? And that's where we get into some of these other things, like our gaming. You know, we rolled out multiple gigabit services here. Now it's over a year ago because we can we're able to do that. So why wouldn't we? And the gaming event's a great example of, you know, kind of leveraging what we've invested in now and new and unique ways, just like we're talking with, you know, the health systems in the area really think through if, you know, you have a network everywhere like we've built, what can we do in terms of telehealth? Virtual visits are great, but beyond that, what can we be doing when you have that network present everywhere? I mean, it's just phenomenal to think about is it's so it's an exciting time. Yeah, you're not done. It's like, wow, let's hit the gas, Let's go. What else could we be doing with us? It will be great to catch up with Gary at NTCA’s RTIME in San Diego, February 19th-22nd. Hopefully we'll see each other RTIME in a couple of weeks and. Yeah, yeah, I look forward to that for sure. It's always fun talking about technology. I love what a minute ago you said I was like the new the new era in in telco employees because I think I'm 34 years here at Paul Bunyan, there's nothing new about me. It's really turned into old guard. But it was a transition, I suppose. Yeah, I know you're spot on that. Yeah, it was the new computer guy as opposed to what had been done. But I just like that you referred to me as new. Yeah, that is. That's. It's been a while since I've heard that. Yeah. That's funny. So, Gary, it's always great catching up with you. You too, Ken. I look forward to seeing you here in the near future.