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Wisconsin is preparing to spend more than $1 billion in federal funding over the next five years to expand broadband internet service to areas of the state that don’t currently have it.
A state task force developed plans for the project last year and is expected to begin distributing funds in the form of grants this fall to bring broadband service to about 200,000 locations across the state.
Plans for broadband expansion projects are outlined in an annual report released Friday by Gov. Tony Evers’ Broadband Access Task Force. In Wisconsin, the expansion program is being led by the Wisconsin Broadband Office, which is part of the state’s Public Utilities Commission (PSC).
The new report outlines preparations over the past 12 months for the upcoming federally funded expansion program and recommends including more state funding for broadband expansion in the next state budget, a proposal rejected by lawmakers in the 2023-2025 budget.
In addition to policy recommendations regarding future federal funding, the report examines the task force’s work over the past year to promote improved internet access in areas of the state that have been left behind by the digital transformation underway across Wisconsin.
“The state needs to make additional investments to continue this important work and reach its ambitious goal of connecting every Wisconsin resident to high-speed broadband service by the end of this decade,” PSC Chairman Summer Strand wrote in her opening remarks.
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“Under Governor Evers’ leadership, great progress has been made in closing Wisconsin’s digital divide,” Strand wrote, noting that PSC grant funding since 2019 has helped more than 410,000 Wisconsin homes and businesses access new or improved broadband service.
The upcoming expansion program — named BEAD, short for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment — will offer grants to service providers who expand broadband service in unserved and underserved areas.
BEAD is funded through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021, which was one of the signature policy initiatives of the first two years of President Joe Biden’s term.
The Governor’s Broadband Task Force “devoted significant time and attention to supporting the rollout plan for this historic investment to advance our shared goal of ensuring all residents have access to reliable, affordable, high-speed internet,” Strand wrote in the 41-page task force report.
In its report, the task force reiterates its goal that by 2028-29, every home and business in Wisconsin will have access to high-speed broadband service, capable of providing connected devices with download speeds of 100 megabytes per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of 20 Mbps.
The task force’s goals also include ensuring that by 2028-29, “community anchor institutions” (FCC terminology that includes schools, libraries and other essential nonprofits and local services) have reliable download and upload speeds of at least 1,000 Mbps.
“The Task Force believes all Wisconsinites should have the information technology capabilities they need to fully participate in our society, democracy, and economy,” the report states. “Broadband access is a critical driver of much of Wisconsin’s economic development, rural prosperity, educational opportunity, access to basic services, community health, recreation, agriculture, quality of life, and senior living in our communities. Access alone will not achieve our goals; internet adoption, digital literacy, and affordability are key components of equitable and sustainable access.”
The report said private investment and government subsidies helped Wisconsin add fiber optic high-speed internet connections to about 180,000 locations in 2023. New and upgraded towers and equipment increased the number of fixed wireless internet connections in Wisconsin by 240,000.
The net result of these developments will be that 88,500 more Wisconsinites will have access to high-speed internet service in 2023 compared to last year, according to the report.
“Progress over the past year has been impressive, and it is clear that public and private investments continue to close gaps in high-demand areas of Wisconsin,” the report said, “however, gaps still exist” and the FCC’s data on where service is and is not available “remains incomplete in certain areas.”
The report includes an analysis of broadband affordability across the state, defining service as “affordable” if it costs less than 1.17% of total monthly household income.
A group of counties in the northern half of the state and another group of counties, mostly in the central and southwestern parts of the state, have broadband service costs above the 1.17 percent cap. Only eight Wisconsin counties have internet service below this affordability standard. The rest of the state is within the cap and therefore affordable.
The report said a $14.2 billion federal program that provides a $30 discount ($75 on tribal lands) to households whose internet service doesn’t meet affordability guidelines expires in May 2024, with no replacement program in place.
Approximately 114,000 Wisconsin households participate in the FCC and Wisconsin PSC’s Lifeline program, which also helps reduce internet costs. Wisconsin designed the BEAD program to prioritize grant applications that include elements that make service more affordable, such as offering lower-cost programs to eligible households.
The report notes that the state Legislature rejected Governor Evers’ proposed $750 million broadband expansion program for Wisconsin from 2023 to 2025. But over the past 12 months, the state has committed $33.4 million in funding to 50 expansion projects that will serve 14,500 locations.
The funding comes from the state’s existing Broadband Expansion Grant Program and the Broadband Expansion Program Governor Evers launched in 2021 with $100 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
“As the 2025-2027 state budget process begins, the Task Force continues to strongly recommend additional state funding for broadband expansion activities to ensure the reliable and timely deployment of needed broadband infrastructure and achieve the state’s ambitious goal of connecting every Wisconsin resident to high-speed broadband service by the end of this decade,” the report states. “The Task Force believes state funding is essential to close gaps created by defaults and upgrade near-term infrastructure deployment to ensure high-speed, future-proof internet for all Wisconsinites.”
A state task force has outlined a plan for a $1 billion federally funded broadband internet expansion, as originally published by the Wisconsin Examiner.
