Broadband

Public Service Commission: Gov. Evers, PSC announce Internet for All Wisconsin Listening Tour

Jessica Reilly · May 1, 2023 ·

MADISON – Gov. Evers, together with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC), announced today the statewide Internet for All Wisconsin Listening Tour, a series of nine in-person and two virtual interactive meetings to help develop the state’s five-year action plan to deploy high-speed internet and improve internet affordability and adoption.

Community leaders and all interested members of the public are welcome to attend this free event. Prospective attendees are advised to visit the event website for additional event information as it becomes available.

Wisconsin could expect an allocation of $800 million to $1.1 billion to implement the state’s five-year action plan for broadband and approximately $25 million to implement the state’s Digital Equity Plan under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s ‘Internet for All’ programs. In December 2022, Gov. Tony Evers and the PSC announced the nearly $6 million federal investment for the state to develop these plans by gathering local input from Wisconsinites in broadband access and digital inclusion activities.

“With nearly everything about our economy, our workforce and our way of life depending on access to high-speed internet, it’s important for folks across the state to come together and share their experience and ideas to bridge Wisconsin’s digital divide,” said Gov. Evers. “We have come a long way to get more Wisconsinites connected than ever before with over 390,000 homes and businesses connected to new or improved internet, but there’s still more work to do. As we invest in Wisconsin’s infrastructure and future, the conversations during this Listening Tour will help guide this important work to ensure all can access affordable, reliable, high-speed internet.”

“Public participation is critical to the Commission’s broadband access and digital equity efforts, so I’m excited for the Commission to hit the road and hear from community members across Wisconsin as we develop the state’s five-year action plan,” said Chairperson Rebecca Cameron Valcq. “I look forward to the robust dialogue and community engagement during the statewide Listening Tour.”

The Internet for All Wisconsin Listening Tour is hosted by the PSC’s Wisconsin Broadband Office, in partnership with Wisconsin’s nine regional economic development organizations. If someone is unable to attend an in-person or virtual meeting, they may still submit public comment here.

Event details are as follows:

Internet for All Wisconsin Listening Tour – Southcentral (Madison)

Location:
Madison College – Truax Campus | 1701 Wright Street, Madison, WI 53704

Date:
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
9:00 AM to 11:00 AM CDT

Reserve Your Spot

Cap Times: See where rural broadband is (and isn’t) available in Wisconsin

Jessica Reilly · Dec 8, 2022 ·

Source: The Cap Times

As federal regulators prepare to publish a new map showing where broadband internet is and isn’t available across the U.S., Madison-area internet advocates are urging residents to check the draft themselves.

Unveiled in November, the “pre-production draft” of the Federal Communications Commission map is the most detailed and current federal map of internet accessibility, according to an announcement issued last week by the Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadREP). The eight-county economic development group is now encouraging residents to enter their addresses in the online interactive map and notify the FCC if the internet in their area doesn’t match what’s shown on the map.

“If it does not, we have a brief window to challenge that finding,” said Gene Dalhoff, vice president of talent and education at MadREP. “If areas are incorrectly finalized as having access they do not, it will jeopardize the Madison Region’s ability to access federal support for broad infrastructure.”

That federal support includes a share of the more than $42 billion that was set aside for internet expansion under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. Corrections to the map must be submitted by Jan. 13, 2023, before those dollars are allocated.

This isn’t the first time MadREP has sought to mobilize the public to gather information about internet access in the region. Last year, the group released its own internet speed test for Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Rock, and Sauk counties. The test is designed to provide data that the agency and its partners can use to seek improvements to internet infrastructure where they’re needed most

Much of rural America — and some urban and suburban areas — doesn’t have internet fast and reliable enough to meet the federal definition of broadband, which requires download speeds of 25 megabits per second and upload speeds of 3 megabits per second.

For years it’s been hard to say just how big the problem is, since the prior Federal Communications Commission maps that are typically used to assess coverage were based on data by U.S. Census Bureau tract, a geographic unit that can include as many as 8,000 people. A single tract can include homes with fast internet through a cable or fiber connection, as well as homes still connecting to the internet with a dial-up modem.

“If you have one address in a census block that has tremendous broadband, they’re going to apply those results to the entire census block. So this creates very, very misleading maps,” Dalhoff said last year.

If governments or service providers consult those flawed maps to determine where to develop new broadband infrastructure, Dalhoff said, “it could be that 99% of the people are kind of left out in the cold.” In Wisconsin, the Public Service Commission estimates that around 800,000 people, or 14% of the state’s population, don’t have the infrastructure needed for broadband — twice the figure the prior FCC maps suggested.

The new maps will offer a more detailed and current view, showing the fixed and mobile broadband options available at individual addresses, as reported by internet service providers.

“As we often say, access to broadband is vital for economic success,” said MadREP president and CEO Jason Fields. “Now is another opportunity for Wisconsinites to contribute to a broadband solution.”

Article originally published on captimes.com.

WCLO: 12/5/22…Info on Broadband

Jessica Reilly · Dec 5, 2022 ·

MadREP’s Vice President of Talent and Education, Gene Dalhoff, joins WCLO with details on the group’s efforts to collect accurate data on underserved areas in both urban and rural communities in our Region for the last year. Gene announces an opportunity for Wisconsinites to contribute to a broadband solution.

Wondering about next steps? First, check your speed with MadREP’s speed test and compare it to the national map.

Broadband Update: FCC Accepting Correction Challenges for New National Broadband Map

Jessica Reilly · Nov 29, 2022 ·

On Friday, November 18th the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) unveiled the “pre-production draft” of the new national broadband map. This new map is the most detailed and current federal map of where broadband is and is not accessible throughout the country.

What information is included on the map?
The map displays address-level availability and data (as self-reported by internet service providers) for fixed and mobile broadband as well as data aggregated to larger areas – e.g., state, county, census place, and congressional district. Data can be examined by exploring the map’s digital interface or by searching by state or address. The map also displays coverage data by provider.

How does this affect you and your community?
In cases where the draft broadband map indicates broadband speeds that are not actually being observed at specific locations, it is important to challenge the results being presented on the map. Failure to do so could jeopardize a community’s ability to secure a portion of the more than $42 Billion set aside for broadband expansion under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. Simply put, if the speeds indicated on the map are incorrect for a location and you want to improve local broadband access, it is very important to challenge the results.

How to submit a challenge/ correction:
The FCC is seeking help to improve the data on the map by asking communities and individuals to submit a challenge or request a correction. These are 3 types of challenges: availability challenges, mobile availability challenges, and location challenges. More information on the challenge process can be found on the, How to Use the FCC’s National Broadband Map help page.

How does this affect you and your community?
In cases where the draft broadband map indicates broadband speeds that are not being observed at specific locations, it is important to challenge the results being presented on the map. Failure to do so could jeopardize a community’s ability to secure a portion of the more than $42 billion set aside for broadband expansion under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.

Due Date
To ensure valid challenges are incorporated into the map before federal funding allocations are made, the public are encouraged to submit challenges by January 13, 2023.

Source: Public Service Commission of Wisconsin

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Madison RegionEconomic Partnership

Madison Region
Economic Partnership