Listening Tour
In May and June 2023, Wisconsin successfully implemented the Internet for All Wisconsin Listening Tour. The tour consisted of nine in-person meetings across the state, and two statewide virtual sessions. State representatives listened to input from Wisconsin stakeholders on broadband use, accessibility, and affordability. Stakeholders from across Wisconsin shared insight and perspectives that are critical to the expansion of high-speed Internet to communities.
Local Grant Creation
Wisconsin used $1.5 million of its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) planning funds to create the BEAD Local Planning Grant. The grant allocated funding to Wisconsin's counties and Tribal nations that applied to the program. These resources supported local engagement and planning for the future deployment of broadband. As a result, many counties created broadband committees to further engage their residents in the planning process. The Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth’s (OICG) Wisconsin Federal Program Officer (FPO) served as a resource for a number of these committees by sharing program guidance and information.
Internet for All Wisconsin Kick Off
Wisconsin collaborated with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to successfully plan and execute the Internet for All Wisconsin Kickoff event in October 2022 in Wausau, Wisconsin. NTIA staff traveled to the event to present information about the Internet for All initiative, and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Commerce Kevin Gallagher participated in an opening panel moderated by the Chair of the Governor's Task Force on Broadband Access. The panel included Wisconsin Public Service Commission Chair Rebecca Cameron Valcq and then President of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin Marlon WhiteEagle.
Future Proofing Wisconsin
Dairyland Power Cooperative received a grant from NTIA’s Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure (Middle Mile) Program in June 2023. The 240-mile project will provide expanded opportunities for unserved and underserved residents in rural Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.
Amplifying Investments
In August 2023, Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin announced a new collaboration between Sanmina and Nokia to manufacture fiber-optic broadband electronics while visiting the Sanmina Corporation facility in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. In addition to now producing these materials in the United States, the partnership will also create up to 200 new jobs in the state. Secretary Raimondo and Senator Baldwin met with a group of residents who currently lack reliable Internet service to hear how lack of access impacts their daily lives and businesses. NTIA staff, including Senior Advisor Gallagher, then traveled to a nearby site to view a fiber installation project that is funded by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars.