Rural communities left out of broadband boom in Wisconsin

At a time when Americans can work and learn remotely from just about anywhere, internet access isn't a luxury it's a necessity. However, a large part of rural Wisconsin has been left behind. According to a report from Forward Analytics, hundreds of thousands of people in Wisconsin do not have access to high-speed internet at all. The report shows 25 percent of Wisconsin's rural population lack access to high-speed internet. That's more than 430,000 people and many more struggle with the weak connection they do have. Private Internet providers are spending millions of dollars on laying fiber-optic lines across thousands of miles across northeast Wisconsin.  "Broadband is the most legally addictive product a company can sell," says Drew Peterson, senior VP of corporate affairs for TDS. Yet rural Wisconsin and Native American Reservations are being left behind in digital deserts. "The economics are challenging. There are fewer people in those areas. It costs the same to build a fiber-optic route mile, whether you have 100,000 customers or 10 and so that's one of the challenges that I think local municipal areas that are smaller, face," Peterson says. Private companies like TDS Telecom are working on finding solutions to rural internet deserts but it's going to be a long road.