Wisconsin

Every morning, as Mike Hesse gets ready to go out the front door of his family farm, he has a rude awakening. Right at the edge of his property stands an orange and white pole that looks like a PVC pipe. It’s a utility cap for a fiber-optic internet line that cuts through his front yard. “That’s how close fiber internet is to my home here,” he said, standing on his porch.

The sixth report of the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband Access highlights the successful progress of Wisconsin’s broadband expansion journey over the years. Thanks to Governor Evers’ leadership, more than 410,000 Wisconsin homes and businesses will have access to new or improved high-speed service.

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin proudly shares that PSC Commissioner Kristy Nieto was appointed to serve as the new Chair of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners Committee on Consumers and Public Interest. The NARUC Committee on Consumers and the Public Interest brings together commissioners from across the nation to focus on the evolving role state commissions play in protecting consumers and upholding the public interest.

For Morgana Matthews, a free laptop means more than just access to technology. It means opportunity. “Your hands are tied. You’re limited in what you can do,” Matthews said.

National Telecommunications and Information Administrator Arielle Roth isn’t playing “Wisconsin Nice” with that state’s broadband leadership, including retiring Gov. Tony Evers NTIA is pushing back on Wisconsin’s recent claim that tens of thousands of homes will remain unserved as the state launches a new $60 million, state-funded Internet grant round designed to plug holes in its broadband map.

Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, announced $60 million to expand access to high-speed internet in unserved communities through the State Broadband Expansion Grant Program.

Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, announced the award of $1.7 million in grant funding to improve access to and affordability of essential telecommunication services in Wisconsin.

Brightspeed announced a major milestone in its Wisconsin expansion: 30 percent of the company’s planned fiber network in the state is now complete. More than 67,000 homes and businesses already have access to Brightspeed Fiber Internet, with an additional 146,000 locations planned statewide as construction continues. As Wisconsin communities prepare for the next era of technology, fiber is becoming essential infrastructure.

TDS Telecommunications is kicking off work on a major network upgrade project to expand access to high-speed internet connections to its rural customers in Wood County (WI). All TDS-served addresses in the county, including the areas of Arpin, Auburndale, Babcock, Hansen, Lincoln, Pittsville, Remington, Richfield, and more, will be included in the upgrade plans. Construction will kick off this year and extend until at least 2028. This year’s plans call for installing nearly 400 miles of high-speed infrastructure to connect more than 3,500 addresses.

Spectrum announced the expansion of its fiber broadband network to bring Spectrum Internet to more than 4,500 additional homes and businesses in previously unserved or underserved areas of Vilas and Oneida counties (WI), including Newbold, Sugar Camp, Three Lakes, Phelps, Conover, and Manitowish Waters. This project was supported, in part, through $2,619,798 of funds from the State of Wisconsin, acting by and through the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin.