The LinkWISCONSIN Initiative

Welcome to the LinkWISCONSIN website. Here you’ll find important news and resources related to our mapping and planning efforts.

Feel free to visit our site often for the latest in broadband-related news and resources.

Funding for LinkWISCONSIN

Latest News

• The Door County Economic Development Corporation is hosting a Broadband Summit on June 8 to celebrate and promote the infrastructure and service upgrades in the County and debut the new telecommunications layer on the Door County GIS Map.

  Read more about the Summit and view the Agenda for the roundtable presentations.

• The State Broadband Initiative (SBI) Cost Model was released on April 4, 2013. The Cost Model assesses existing coverage, determines population densities, estimates likely demand and estimates relevant network costs to enhance broadband coverage in unserved areas.

  Network cost estimates are developed separately for wireline and for wireless service gaps. The Model is focused on a fundamental policy level issue: what are the core costs to enable the provisioning of broadband to Wisconsin's most chronically unserved populations by one of two options: wireline or wireless.

  Access the Cost Model documents,* including an overview of the Cost Model (just the basics); Excel spreadsheets displaying the comprehensive raw data; and the complete, region-level, and county-level results reflected in graphs and charts.

  *Note: After accessing the Analytics Page through the above underlined link, simply click on the sub-heading entitled 'Broadband Availability' and scroll down to the 'Cost Model' section.

• The LinkWISCONSIN team needs your help!

  In an effort to ensure the most accurate measurement and mapping of state mobile broadband networks, LinkWISCONSIN has partnered with Mobile Pulse to develop an app that will collect and analyze mobile broadband performance across Wisconsin.

  By installing the new LinkWISCONSIN mobile test app on your smart phones and tablets, we will have access to anonymous data that will help us understand, identify and compare performance across our state. Read more about the LinkWISCONSIN mobile app, how it helps state planners and how it can help you.

  
  
• The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) has released Wisconsin’s Playbook for Broadband Progress.

  The Playbook serves as a tool that all stakeholders should study and explore to identify specific broadband actions and initiatives that can be considered for the state.

Other News

Public meetings were held in 2011 to launch Broadband Action Plans in the following regions:

Region 1 (Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Iron, Price, Sawyer, Taylor and Washburn Counties) | Meeting was held Oct. 3 in Hayward

Region 2 (Forest, Langlade, Lincoln, Oneida and Vilas Counties) | Meeting was held Nov. 9 in Eagle River

Region 3 (Barron, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Rusk and Saint Croix Counties) | Meeting was held Oct. 12 in Eau Claire

Region 4 (Marathon, Portage and Wood Counties) | Meeting was held Nov. 8 in Stevens Point

Region 6 (Adams, Buffalo, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe, Trempealeau and Vernon Counties) | Meeting was held Oct. 4 in La Crosse

Region 7 (Crawford, Grant, Iowa, Lafayette and Richland Counties) | Meeting was held Oct. 5 in Fennimore

Region 8 (Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Jefferson, Rock and Sauk Counties) | Meeting was held Jan. 31 in Portage.

Region 9 (Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha Counties) | Meeting was held Feb. 7 in Mount Pleasant

Other regional updates:

Region 5 (Brown, Calumet, Door, Florence, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano, Sheboygan, Waupaca, Washara and Winnebago Counties) has launched its plan and is starting to form localized Technology Leadership Groups.

Funding for LinkWISCONSIN

Funding for LinkWISCONSIN

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 made funding possible for broadband projects, including mapping and planning, infrastructure, public computer centers and sustainable adoption programs. States' broadband mapping and planning projects are made possible through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) State Broadband Data and Development (SBDD) grant program.

In Nov. 2009, Wisconsin received an approximately $1.7 million grant to fund the State's SBDD project years 1-2. An additional $2.82 million grant was awarded in Sept. 2010 to fund project years 3-5.

This project will serve as a catalyst for increased access to and use of broadband to better serve our citizens. With ubiquitous broadband, we can realize improved economic development, access to education and health care, enhanced public safety, improved government efficiencies, increased tourism, greater access to telework opportunities and more.

Top of Page

Why LinkWISCONSIN?

Through initial research, we understand there are many reasons Wisconsinites do not use broadband. Perhaps the most commonly cited barrier is access: broadband must be available in order to adopt it. Where broadband is available, barriers to adopting it include high subscription costs, lack of broadband-ready devices, low awareness of broadband uses and concerns about privacy and security on the Internet. Through community collaboration and regional planning, this project will address these issues and many more.

In order to address expansion of this technology, we must first have a clear picture of where broadband currently exists in the state, and thus where our gaps in coverage are. Following a thorough assessment and inventory of key Wisconsin assets, we have developed an online, interactive tool revealing our broadband footprint. This tool, available on this site in August, will display detailed maps of broadband coverage in both rural and urban areas throughout the state. Ultimately, these maps will provide consumers with links to individual broadband providers in their area.

While consumers may use this content to identify and order broadband services, it is equally important for policymakers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Policymakers can identify and address barriers to expansion. ISPs can identify gaps in coverage and an estimated cost to fill them.

To this point, we have been unable to accurately articulate the levels of current and future demand for broadband services for Wisconsin businesses, households and community anchor institutions. By collecting and analyzing market data, we will be able to profile county-specific broadband service demands and complete a geographic analysis of that demand relative to available infrastructure.

Another challenge LinkWISCONSIN addresses is the absence of coordinated regional leadership to plan and implement local sustainable adoption. During the past two years, we facilitated regional technology planning teams to develop effective, local strategies and regional broadband plans.

Top of Page

Our Role in Addressing Broadband Challenges and Solutions

LinkWISCONSIN is not intended to replace or compete with other broadband efforts in our state, but rather to identify and work with new and existing projects that share our goal. Through collaboration, we can finally realize greater access to and use of broadband technologies to improve business opportunities and the quality of life for all Wisconsinites.