Wisconsin giving back stimulus funds intended for broadband expansion

Wisconsin state officials are returning $23 million to the federal government, saying there were too many strings attached to stimulus money that was supposed to be for expanding high-speed Internet service in schools, libraries and government agencies.

The money was to have boosted broadband connections in 380 Wisconsin communities, including 385 libraries and 82 schools. It also could have been used to improve police, fire department and hospital communications in rural areas. But state taxpayers would have been on the hook for the entire $23 million if the state could not meet the grant's precise requirements, Mike Huebsch, secretary of the state Department of Administration, said in a memo to school and library associations. "This is simply not an acceptable risk," Huebsch wrote. Wisconsin received the grant a year ago from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. It was part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which included about $7 billion in grants, loans and loan guarantees to extend broadband to underserved rural areas. The money would have been used for the BadgerNet Converged Network, which brings the Internet to schools, libraries, and state and local government agencies. It would have paid for 200 miles of fiber-optic cable, improving the Internet connections at hundreds of public facilities. BadgerNet, however, runs on infrastructure owned and managed primarily by AT&T. Federal officials wanted a commitment that the fiber-optic cable would be used for at least 20 years, but the state's contract with AT&T is for five years.

School and library associations said they were disappointed in the decision since many rural communities, especially, lack fast broadband connections. For the immediate future, libraries will probably be able to increase their bandwidth with the existing infrastructure. But long term, not having the additional fiber-optic cable is a loss, said Lisa Strand, executive director of the Wisconsin Library Association.