Biden-Harris Administration Awards More Than $5.9 Million to Wisconsin in ‘Internet for All’ Planning Grants

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Wisconsin received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative. Wisconsin is receiving $5,952,197.63 in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet service throughout the state. Wisconsin will receive $5 million in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants to fund various activities including: 

• Identification of unserved and underserved locations;
• Development of a 5-year action plan;
• Capacity building of the state broadband office;
• Asset mapping across Wisconsin to catalog high-speed Internet service adoption, affordability, equity, access, and deployment;
• Survey of unserved, underserved, and underrepresented communities to better understand barriers to Internet adoption;
• Analysis of broadband needs in each region of the state.

Wisconsin will receive $952,197.63 in Digital Equity Act grants to fund various activities including:

• Development of a statewide digital equity plan;
• Subawards for stakeholder engagement and outreach;
• Recruitment of staff and capacity-building.