The Governor’s Task Force on Broadband Access is pushing for more state funding to expand broadband in Wisconsin, arguing “federal funds alone won’t solve internet access issues” for state residents.
The task force on Friday issued its fourth annual report, providing an update for ongoing state efforts around improving internet access as well as preparations for the more than $1 billion Wisconsin is receiving through the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, or BEAD.
Starting next year, competitive BEAD subgrants will be awarded under the program’s timeline at the state Public Service Commission website.
The task force’s report includes a number of recommendations for preparing for this process, such as: supporting training and credentialing for the workforce needed for broadband infrastructure development; streamlining grant administration; supporting permitting coordination between the federal government and internet service providers, and many more.
The report also calls for investing more state budget dollars for broadband expansion “address gaps left behind” in the BEAD allocation process, as well as considering line extension funding to support broadband installations.
The task force is urging targeting “areas where experienced speeds differ from advertised service due to aging and less-reliable technology, and where prior federal funding awards default and are left incomplete.”
To support affordability and adoption of high-speed internet, it’s calling for updating grant criteria under the State Broadband Expansion program to include cost of service or affordability for low-income households, among other changes.
And the group wants state officials to advocate for federal action to fund the Affordable Connectivity Program. A release from Gov. Tony Evers noted federal lawmakers “failed to extend” the ACP program, which included one in every six Wisconsin households in February of this year. The monthly benefit — $30 per month for eligible households and up to $75 per month for qualifying households on tribal lands — ended in June.
Evers’ release notes the governor has allocated more than $345 million in state and federal funds to expand high-speed internet, supporting new and improved internet service for more than 410,000 homes and businesses.
“I’ll be calling on the Legislature to make real, meaningful investments in broadband in our next budget so we can continue building the 21st-century infrastructure Wisconsinites need and deserve,” Evers said in a statement.
In his previous budget proposal, Evers recommended allocating $750 million in state funding to supplement the federal funding, but he notes that didn’t make it into the final budget.
He also notes “we’ve got more work to do,” as Wisconsin still has more than 180,100 unserved locations and 195,200 underserved locations.
