How a company with a century of experience in infrastructure is helping improve broadband

On this episode of Connected Nation, host Jessica Denson talks with Mike Miller, Broadband Practice Leader at HDR—a 107-year-old company that recently entered the broadband space.

Discover how HDR is leveraging its Matrix model to tackle complex challenges, from Dig Once initiatives to the rapid demand for data centers nationwide. 

Learn why open access networks, middle-mile redundancy, and forward-thinking infrastructure planning are key to preparing for an AI-driven future.

Recommended Links:

Mike's LinkedIn

HDR's LinkedIn

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to HDR's broadband journey
• 2:16 HDR's history and infrastructure expertise
• 4:28 The Matrix Model
• 6:01 Open access networks and dig once policy
• 9:13 AI, data centers, and infrastructure demands
• 15:27 Future-proofing connectivity
• 18:32 HDR's culture and nationwide reach
• 21:34 Closing thoughts and industry outlook

Transcript

Jessica Denson (00:08):

On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage for Mountain Connect by talking to a representative from a company that's 107 years old. They just got into the broadband game a couple of years ago. Learn how they're leveraging what they call the Matrix model to problem solve. Everything from Dig Ones needs to the fast-paced demand for data centers across the country. I'm Jessica Denson, and this is Connected Nation. We are again at Mountain Connect 2025 taking place in Denver, Colorado, August 4th through the sixth. And I am sitting with Mike Miller, his official name's Michael, but he prefers Mike <laugh>. He's with HDR. He is the broadband practice leader. Do I have that title right, Mike? Yes. Mike Miller (00:56):

Yeah. Very good. Jessica Denson (00:56):

Yeah. Welcome. Mike Miller (00:57):

Thank you. Jessica Denson (00:58):

Uh, thanks here so much for stopping by. Um, we met last night and, um, everybody at Connect Nation Nation is a big fan of yours. That's awesome. They say you're the greatest, and I've seen you walking around and making friends <laugh> or talking to old friends, and you've always got a smile on your face. Mike Miller (01:15):

Yeah, Jessica Denson (01:15):

Yeah. Mike Miller (01:16):

Happy to be here. Jessica Denson (01:17):

Yeah. You like Mountain Connect, you enjoy it. Mike Miller (01:19):

Love Mountain Connect. Yeah. Jessica Denson (01:20):

Why is that? Mike Miller (01:21):

It's, uh, it's one of those shows where, uh, it's more intimate. You really get to connect with people Jessica Denson (01:27):

Mm-hmm Mike Miller (01:28):

<affirmative>. And I don't know, people are genuine. Jessica Denson (01:31):

I heard, I heard a tale told of ISE that there was not a lot of people at the New Orleans event. Oh, Mike Miller (01:38):

Yeah. Jessica Denson (01:38):

That so <laugh>, Mike Miller (01:40):

You know what? I think there's just so much fatigue right now with shows and conferences and the, you know, the, the, the run up to bead funding, Jessica Denson (01:49):

Uhhuh <affirmative> has Mike Miller (01:50):

Been painfully slow. Jessica Denson (01:53):

Everybody's a little tired. Mike Miller (01:53):

Yes. Jessica Denson (01:54):

Yeah. Mike Miller (01:54):

So there's a lot of fatigue around this. I that's, you come to a show like this though, but you don't ex you don't see it. And we're so close to funding Uhhuh, so, Jessica Denson (02:04):

So it's just trying to get it over that finish line it Mike Miller (02:07):

Yeah. <laugh>. Yeah. Exactly. Jessica Denson (02:08):

Yeah. So talk about HDRI asked you right before we started about what HDR stood for. Yeah. And tell us what did the what. Mike Miller (02:16):

Yeah, it's, uh, the, the founders Hennings and Durham and Richardson Uhhuh and the, uh, the company's 107 years old was founded in Omaha, Nebraska, um, as engineering added architecture 107 years later where full service, 14,000 people around the world. Jessica Denson (02:38):

Oh, wow. Mike Miller (02:39):

Um, and really focused on communities. We live in Uhhuh, so we do the transportation, the water, the, uh, architecture for the library, the hospital. Jessica Denson (02:49):

So you touched just about everything. Infrastructure. Mike Miller (02:51):

Yeah. Yeah. Have a really strong environmental permitting practice. So we help the states now in broadband be compliant to the, uh, federal funding. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. So, Jessica Denson (03:02):

So talk a little bit, we kind of touched on it there at the end, but talk about your role specifically as broadband practice leader. Is that a new area for a 80 HDR? I couldn't say it there for a second. Yeah, Mike Miller (03:14):

Yeah, absolutely. So we've done a lot of things all over the years, but really never had a focus on telecom, Uhhuh <affirmative>. So, broadband is about two years old when I started and when I got here, it was a whiteboard. What do you, what do you want to do? What should we do? Uhhuh <affirmative>, uh, we had an interest in the federal funding with the broadband Infrastructure and Jobs Act feed program, and late to the game uhhuh. So what are you gonna do? Jessica Denson (03:42):

Yeah. What are you gonna do? So at that point, what were you saying? Were you like, okay, where can we really put ourselves in and help Yeah. And use our background and infrastructure Yeah. To really make an impact. Mike Miller (03:51):

Absolutely. Uhhuh <affirmative>. And so looking around the landscape, I found the partners in KPMG and RSM and folks who were already in the broadband office who had established relationships and were driving the programs. And for HCR at that point, it's, uh, around compliance. So federal permitting, nepa, section 1 0 6 mm-hmm <affirmative>. And that's where we've landed and really have, uh, uh, been fortunate to be with partners in now six states and helping them be compliant with the federal funds under the NTIA. So, Jessica Denson (04:28):

So are there some things that are just true throughout, like maybe there might be something a little different about this, um, regulation, but there is the fact that you've had some experience deeper even in yourself Yeah. In infrastructure helps you navigate. Mike Miller (04:43):

Yeah, absolutely. So we do, uh, work in a lot of states with the dots mm-hmm <affirmative>. And so we understand what the, the federal funding looks like and what compliance to the feds are. Um, so we have that understanding of, of, you know, grant programs and compliance. But I would say every state's a little different. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Their bead programs or broadband offices are different. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. The program is the same, I should say, but the way they address it, the number of people they have to support it, everything's different. So we approach it as where, where can we fit, where can we help? Do you need boots on the ground? Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Great. We can do that. If it's just administrative functions and helping with the compliance, fine. We're, we're fine there. Right. We Jessica Denson (05:32):

Can top of that. So it's all levels of it than that. Mike Miller (05:34):

Absolutely. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Yeah. And the fact that we do have people in every state that can roll a truck and inspect a project and make sure it's going in the way it was designed, or we need to do an environmental impact statement mm-hmm <affirmative>. We can do that. So we're able to leverage. So you have a Jessica Denson (05:51):

Lot of Yeah. You have a lot of breach and understanding in many areas. Mike Miller (05:55):

Yeah. Jessica Denson (05:55):

Yeah. Mike Miller (05:56):

Yeah. Jessica Denson (05:56):

Yeah. So you said DOT, uh, department Mike Miller (06:01):

Of Transportation Department, sorry. Depart transp. Jessica Denson (06:02):

No, no, I got it. Mike Miller (06:03):

Yep. Jessica Denson (06:03):

I, I was gonna pick it up though, is that, you know, there's this whole talk about autonomous cars. Mike Miller (06:07):

Yeah. Jessica Denson (06:08):

Um, I was once had the privilege of interviewing the CEO of Lyft, and they just bought a company, um, overseas that's dealing in autonomous cars. How is have, are you hearing anything about that with people with connectivity? Mike Miller (06:19):

Yeah, absolutely. So, um, your roadways are really intelligent. Uhhuh, we call it intelligent transportation systems. Oh, that's interesting. IT is, uh, Uhhuh an extension of that DOT because they have cameras, they have sensors, they have picking up all kinds of data along that roadway. Uhhuh, that's not just for autonomous vehicles, it's for traffic control and other things. Right. So your roadways are really, you know, uh, intelligent monitored transportation pathways, uhhuh. And, you know, my, my, my wish for all of it is that we can have open access networks that the state uses mm-hmm <affirmative>. That the, uh, communication companies use, the data centers use. So we're not tearing up the same pieces, you know, Jessica Denson (07:08):

Over and over, over Mike Miller (07:09):

And over every time. Oh, we have a new provider coming in. No, we have a pathway built lease this fiber or this, this tube and this conduit. So ultimately it's gonna be a culmination of that. It's just slow. Right. Jessica Denson (07:21):

Yeah. Anything with the infrastructure takes longer than it seems like it should. Right? Mike Miller (07:25):

Yes. And there has to be leadership in that space. And the leadership will come from the governors and the broadband offices, hopefully, that says, wait, you want to do what on my transportation and my right of way? Let's plan, let's build capacity for, for multiple people. Right. Jessica Denson (07:44):

So I talked earlier with the, uh, broadband manager for Los Alamos County in New Mexico, and he was talking about open AC access networks as Mike Miller (07:52):

Well. Yes. Yeah. Jessica Denson (07:53):

Um, is that really kind of the way that direction a lot of people are moving? Or is that just some, or what are you in your, in your opinion, what are you seeing out there? Mike Miller (08:01):

I mean, it's a, it's, uh, it's utopia. If we can get there, <laugh>, um, there's a lot of people with vested interests, uhhuh, that, you know, may not see that as the best, you know, path forward. But if I'm a taxpayer in a state and I am, you know, paying for the update of that roadway or, or you know, that corridor uhhuh, why shouldn't I expect more outta my tax dollars than to build a pathway that accepts multiple providers and is used by the state? You know, far too often we see these, um, uh, afterthoughts and now we need more capacity and we're gonna tear it up again. It's, to me, it's just frustrating. Jessica Denson (08:46):

'cause you're doing the same work over and over. Mike Miller (08:47):

Yeah. Yeah. So, um, if we can coordinate and just have a, you know, a policy where it's, it is truly dig, once Uhhuh <affirmative>, that's what we need to shoot for. And if we don't start, we'll never get there. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. You know, people say it's too late <laugh>. It's never too late. It's never too Jessica Denson (09:04):

Late. Yeah. Mike Miller (09:05):

We've got ai, we've got quantum computing, you know, what's next? Jessica Denson (09:09):

There's, and that's the thing. There's gonna be the technology's moving so quickly. Mike Miller (09:13):

Yeah. You Jessica Denson (09:13):

Have to build future proof. Right, right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. What else are for you, do you see are the big issues within this space that, um, that you're hearing from people or that you see that nearly would be addressed right now? Mike Miller (09:27):

Um, one of the major things is, is everybody's talking about it at these conferences is AI data, data centers, hyperscale data centers. They're going everywhere. Um, and now they're going in rural communities because they have power or water, or both. You need 'em both. But a lack of connectivity. And if we can think forward and know that there are gonna be edge data centers, there has to be Right. For low latency applications. Um, and that if we can help create this fabric, this middle mile, Jessica Denson (10:04):

Uh, Mike Miller (10:05):

Um, to me that's what's next. I would like to see more cooperation from the hyperscale data center providers and the folks that are building their networks to think ahead and say, all right, I'm gonna have a, you know, two gigawatt data center in a rural community that's really not gonna benefit that community uhhuh much. What can I do to contribute because I'm going to use their power and their water. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. If I can contribute access fiber connectivity that's in the best interest of both parties. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Right. Jessica Denson (10:48):

So it's a win-win. Mike Miller (10:49):

It's a win-win. And we're building out the fabric of the con country, which we need. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. If it's not just data centers. If we're onshoring manufacturing and we're onshoring semiconductors and you know, pharmaceutical tech, we, they're all connected mm-hmm <affirmative>. So we need to think about that. Right. All of these infrastructure projects need connectivity. And if we continue to think of these one at a time, we're never gonna build capacity for all of them. Jessica Denson (11:21):

Yeah. We need to think bigger big picture, how do we partner together? Right. How do we work together to do better for all of us? Mike Miller (11:27):

Yeah. Yeah. It would've been nice to get ahead of this bead funding, uh, you know, whatever, three, four years ago, Jessica Denson (11:33):

<laugh>. Yeah. Mike Miller (11:33):

When we knew Jessica Denson (11:34):

You can't move back time. Right. Mike Miller (11:35):

Yeah. <laugh>, we knew we were gonna spend four. We haven't spent it yet. So $42 billion could have helped a lot with the fabric uhhuh. So if we have non deployment funds that are now gonna be, have a chance to be allocated, can we use it for that? Jessica Denson (11:50):

Yeah. That's a good question. Mike Miller (11:51):

Why not? Jessica Denson (11:52):

Yeah. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. With the states that you're working with, you said you were in six states right now, are they looking at some of those things or are you putting that before them? Like, Hey, let's consider some of this. Mike Miller (12:01):

Yeah, we're talking about it now. Uh, and the big thing now is, uh, uh, I've heard today that there's gonna be a bill in front of Congress for non-employment funds mm-hmm <affirmative>. To be used for middle mile and, um, maybe some equity projects that were taken out. And so hopefully that gets passed and that if we don't spend the money on the fiber to the home mm-hmm <affirmative>. That the state can use that for projects like this. Right. Middle mile connectivity, digital equity, support, education. Jessica Denson (12:32):

What do you think is, would be the impact if we don't do those things? Mike Miller (12:36):

We miss a big opportunity and we don't, we don't move the ball forward in, in rural communities mm-hmm <affirmative>. And they'll always be behind, right? Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Jessica Denson (12:48):

And technology's just gonna keep going forward. <laugh>, Mike Miller (12:50):

It's not gonna stop. Jessica Denson (12:51):

No, it's not gonna Mike Miller (12:52):

Stop. The rate of change is incredible uhhuh right now. I mean, I've never been more excited for our industry and, uh, our time in history. Mm-hmm. Very optimistic, but there's some things that we need to do now that will make a difference. Jessica Denson (13:08):

So Yeah. You lead state programs and you have a counterpart who does local and county. Mike Miller (13:13):

Yeah. Jessica Denson (13:13):

Kind of how do you two approach it or do you work together? Mike Miller (13:16):

Yeah, we do. And we work a lot with the internal a CR team. So we are in the communities maybe doing the water or the roads or the transportation plans mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, and so we're trying to educate those folks that hey, we do broadband now, so Jessica Denson (13:30):

Let's Yeah. Let's, there's another piece of the puzzle there. Mike Miller (13:31):

Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. And so if we can help them get ahead of the, uh, planning in the community transportation plan or the community, um, development plan, and we put broadband or technology into that mm-hmm <affirmative>. We've, we've, uh, leapfrog that community ahead. It's no longer an afterthought. And, and my my stance is telecommunications is a utility. You can't live without it. Right. You can't live without internet connectivity. Jessica Denson (14:03):

I could not. Mike Miller (14:04):

Right. I can't. Right. Uh, so we, it needs to be part of the planning. It needs to have a space in the trench for, you know, right. Along with the electrical and the water and the sewer, the gas. Jessica Denson (14:15):

Just think about it in a in advance instead as, as an afterthought. Mike Miller (14:18):

Yeah. Yeah. Jessica Denson (14:19):

Exactly. Um, what, what do you think, I know there's a lot of talk about ai mm-hmm <affirmative>. Is, is your company, it doesn't have to just be broadband. Are are they, are, is your company looking at different ways to implement AI within the infrastructure Mike Miller (14:33):

Framework? Yeah, so we, we, uh, we're having a very thoughtful approach to it. We have a lot of intellectual property, whether it be architecture design or the way we do things. So we want to do it inside our fence uhhuh and make sure our data and our client data is protected. So how do we use AI against our own data to improve our design or our methodology process, et cetera. So, yeah, I think it, it, you know, we're an old company, but we know that we, AI is, we're building these data centers, right. Uhhuh, <affirmative> for our clients. And so we better be using it. Um, and we are, it's, I would say it's just a very thoughtful, secure approach to, um, design using our own data to do Jessica Denson (15:24):

That. To try to innovate. Mike Miller (15:26):

Yeah. Yeah. Jessica Denson (15:27):

Exactly. So, uh, you know, you've heard a lot, or at least I've read a lot 'cause I'm supposed to, 'cause I'm a comms person, Mike Miller (15:33):

<laugh>, yeah. Jessica Denson (15:34):

Um, that some of these data centers take up a lot of energy. Mike Miller (15:38):

Yeah. Jessica Denson (15:38):

Uh, are some of your, is some of your group looking at that and how do we improve that? What do we have to do? Do we have to move this around to make it better? I've heard everything from like, the color of the inside of it matters Mike Miller (15:49):

Yeah. Jessica Denson (15:50):

Of a data center. Mike Miller (15:51):

Yeah. So they use a lot of power mm-hmm <affirmative>. And we're designing multiple gigawatt data centers, which is a lot of power. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, and, and so you're, we're, we're looking at how do we move generation on site? You can't rely on the grid. Right. You can't move gigawatts of power to rural communities. Now where these data centers might be, and it's everything. It's, it's natural gas, it's, uh, small modular reactor, nuclear energy. You know, it's, it's how do we span that? Because it's gonna take a while to permit and turn up a an SMRA modular reactor. Uh, so what are we use in the meantime? So is that natural gas? So we have a group that does, uh, power generation utilities, uh, planning, and we're actively involved with these hyperscale data centers to, to help plan for that. I will tell you the rate at the pace that these are going in is, is incredible Jessica Denson (16:52):

Uhhuh. Mike Miller (16:52):

And we're not just working for one, we're working for multiple. Jessica Denson (16:55):

Define incredible. Mike Miller (16:56):

Well, they tell us, if you have a hundred more people, we'll take 'em tomorrow. Like, oh, wow. We need more, more and more faster. So now you're looking at, uh, maybe, uh, retrofitting data centers that were cloud data centers for ai. Well, what's that gonna take? More power, more water. Jessica Denson (17:14):

Yeah. Mike Miller (17:15):

So how do we redesign that and bring that up to an AI standard? Existing facilities? Do we look at now warehouses that were distribution logistics. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Can they be data centers? Jessica Denson (17:29):

Yeah. Mike Miller (17:30):

Everything's on the table. Jessica Denson (17:31):

Everything's on the table right now. <laugh>. Yeah. Mike Miller (17:32):

Yeah. Um, Jessica Denson (17:34):

I find it interesting. Uh, you, you talked about speed and Japan broke the speed internet, the internet speed record with a terabit. Mike Miller (17:41):

Yeah. Jessica Denson (17:42):

Um, so it's just like, I, I had to look up what a terabit was. <laugh>. Yeah. Um, and I wrote a little piece on it. And so my point being is that it, it, the next thing could just come outta nowhere. Mike Miller (17:54):

Absolutely. Jessica Denson (17:54):

So how do you prepare for what could possibly, Mike Miller (17:57):

Well, you gotta be agile and you can't rely on what worked yesterday. Jessica Denson (18:01):

Yeah. Mike Miller (18:02):

So, um, we're being challenged by our clients in this space to, to do that. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. How do we think about cooling data centers differently? Mm-hmm <affirmative>. So I, there's not a lot of air cooled data centers in this space. Yes. Anymore. The new design is water cooled uhhuh, uh, closed loop, so we can recycle the water mm-hmm <affirmative>. And try not to evaporate it and lose it. Yeah. Everything is, is, uh, being asked of us to challenge the status quo. Jessica Denson (18:32):

So you working in the broad broadband space? What's your background? Mike Miller (18:36):

My background is, uh, uh, networks, data centers. So I work for, uh, co-location data centers, Jessica Denson (18:45):

Uhhuh. Mike Miller (18:46):

And, uh, a long time ago I worked at, uh, a major railroad. Oh, awesome. And it was in telecommunications and we did everything ourselves. Uhhuh. It was our own fiber, our own microwave along the rails. Oh, wow. We had our own data centers Jessica Denson (19:02):

On the rails Mike Miller (19:02):

No, in outside of that. Oh, okay. But we self-performed everything. Oh, wow. So I had a really well-rounded experience, Jessica Denson (19:09):

Uhhuh Mike Miller (19:10):

Of what it takes to run an IT telecommunications organization. Uhhuh. So I learned from the ground up. Jessica Denson (19:18):

My grandfather worked for the railroads. Mike Miller (19:19):

Yeah. Jessica Denson (19:20):

In Texas. <laugh>. Mike Miller (19:22):

It might have been part of ours. Jessica Denson (19:23):

Yeah. <laugh>. Mike Miller (19:24):

And now we're talking about merging those railroads I know. Into transcontinental. Jessica Denson (19:27):

I know. That's wild. It's Mike Miller (19:28):

Wild. Isn't that fun? Jessica Denson (19:28):

Yeah, it's fun. Yeah. Um, so, uh, HDR are you based in Omaha? Mike Miller (19:34):

Yeah, we're based in Omaha. The company started there in 1917 and have held our, uh, headquarters There we're privately held, well, we're employee owned Uhhuh. Oh, okay. So every employee has, uh, has the opportunity to have shares in the company. Um, and, uh, it, it's, the culture of the company is just incredible. Um, Jessica Denson (19:55):

That's why you're so happy. It's what Mike Miller (19:56):

Attracted me. Yeah. Right. Yeah. How do you not walk around with a smile on your face, Uhhuh when you're challenged with telecommunications Jessica Denson (20:02):

<laugh>. That's true. Yeah. And, but they're, it's a global company, right? Mike Miller (20:06):

Yes. It's Jessica Denson (20:06):

All over the world. Mike Miller (20:07):

Yeah, absolutely. So we're in, uh, uh, the Europe, Asia, middle East, uh, strong growth uhhuh for us, obviously the, uh, north America. Jessica Denson (20:19):

Do you have counterparts in broadband in those other countries? Mike Miller (20:22):

I do not, not yet. Jessica Denson (20:23):

Not yet that. Oh, Mike Miller (20:24):

I, I look to grow the practice <laugh>, but we're active. So we're, we're involved in, uh, of course data centers, finding connectivity in Australia. Australia is a high growth market for us. Yeah. Especially around data centers. Um, so in broadband and telecom, uh, HCR, uh, is, is just staying the lane that we were fit. So we're so new. Right. Uhhuh <affirmative>. Um, but growing incrementally with the talent that we have. The nice thing about HDR is we work in what we call the Matrix. And the matrix is I don't work for a group, I work for the company, Uhhuh <affirmative>. And I can grab, uh, a resource in North Carolina if they have a skill set that I need for a project. Jessica Denson (21:11):

Oh, that's fantastic. Mike Miller (21:12):

Yeah. That's what helps us grow at scale. Uhhuh. Uh, because if we were, you know, in a group and couldn't work outside of that group, Jessica Denson (21:21):

You couldn't scale, we'd be Mike Miller (21:22):

Very limited. Yeah. And when one part of the economy has a downturn, you know, that group could be down and looking for Jessica Denson (21:29):

Work, but now you can pull from each other, Mike Miller (21:32):

Cross benefit each other. Jessica Denson (21:33):

That's fantastic. Mike Miller (21:34):

Yeah. Yeah. It's a great concept. Jessica Denson (21:37):

Can see how benefit, and I know that, um, our team Connected Nation have done some work with you and, um, they're excited about that. Yeah. So yeah, Mike Miller (21:45):

I really like the relationship and respect the team at Connected Nation and, um, the projects we're talking about are really fun. It's exciting. Jessica Denson (21:52):

Yeah. Mike Miller (21:53):

We'll, love to announce them when they happen here shortly. Jessica Denson (21:55):

I know what else we can say. Mike Miller (21:56):

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. <laugh>. Yeah. Jessica Denson (21:58):

I don't want Heather and Chris to come outta here. Go Jessica, right? Like you say. Yeah. <laugh>. But, uh, Mike Miller (22:03):

More to come on that Jessica Denson (22:04):

Though. Yeah. So what's Omaha like? I've never been Oma. Mike Miller (22:07):

Oh, it's a great community. Uhhuh. It's, uh, middle of the country, very conservative, uh, uh, family oriented community. Uhhuh lot to do. I mean, we don't have major sports teams, Jessica Denson (22:19):

But everybody, I mean, my picture of it is steaks, obviously. Yes. Omaha Mike Miller (22:24):

Steaks. Yes. Jessica Denson (22:25):

And a lot of, uh, like maybe some cowboys and some, Mike Miller (22:28):

Some no cowboys. Although we do have a River city roundup that, you know, tradition, you know, lives. Uh, it's got the top rated zoo and though in the world Oh, oh, I have to down Henry Henry Doley Zoo. Jessica Denson (22:40):

Uhhuh <affirmative>. Mike Miller (22:40):

It's amazing Aquarium. And, uh, so we're, we're kind of known for that. And just a good community. Jessica Denson (22:48):

Uhhuh. And you grew up there. Mike Miller (22:49):

Grew up there. Uhhuh <affirmative>. Lived in Kansas City for a while and then came back. Jessica Denson (22:53):

Missouri. Or Kansas Mike Miller (22:55):

<laugh>. It was Missouri, Jessica Denson (22:56):

Kansas City, Missouri, right. Mike Miller (22:57):

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Jessica Denson (23:00):

Awesome. Well, Mike, it's been a pleasure talking to you. Mike Miller (23:03):

Thank you so much. Jessica Denson (23:03):

It was a pleasure meeting you last night. Yeah. And I was so glad you sat down and stopped for me. 'cause I went looking for you <laugh>. I was like, I haven't talked to Mike today. Mike Miller (23:09):

<laugh> enjoyed our conversation. Jessica Denson (23:11):

Yeah, me too. Mike Miller, who is the broadband practice leader with HDR, thank you so much. Mike Miller (23:16):

Thank you. Jessica Denson (23:25):

I'll continue our coverage from Mountain Connect 2025 on the next episode of Connected Nation. Until then, I'm Jessica Sen and this is Connected Nation. If you like our show and wanna know more about us, head to connect nation.org or find our latest episodes on all major podcasts.