Northeast Wisconsin races to improve rural broadband after pandemic exposes 'horrible' internet speeds

Broadband service gets notoriously worse as you move farther from urban areas, creating gaps in internet access that became more visible after the coronavirus pandemic forced people to work from home, attend school virtually and even see their doctors online. The problem isn't new — people have complained for years about the lack of broadband — but government officials across northeastern Wisconsin are now accelerating efforts to improve speeds in some of the region's most remote areas. One major step for Brown County is finding out exactly how bad the problem is for some residents. In December, the county began encouraging residents to take an internet speed test.