Continuing to Connect Wisconsin: Strategies for Statewide Broadband Access

As the nationwide broadband expansion accelerates under the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, Wisconsin is emerging as a model of efficiency and commitment—facing unique geographic challenges, underserved locations, and a tight budget with strategic precision. Despite early and ongoing investments in broadband—Wisconsin’s broadband office has been in place since 2014—the state still faces some challenges. “We just updated our numbers and we’re still looking at nearly 200,000 unserved or underserved locations,” said Wisconsin State Broadband and Digital Equity Director Alyssa Kenney. With $1.1 billion allocated through BEAD, Wisconsin still has a steep hill to climb.