Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Wisconsin struggles to get people to sign up for free internet
About half of the Milwaukee (WI) households eligible for low-cost internet service are now enrolled in a federal program that offers it, but statewide enrollment is only around 25% and the program’s barely been used in many communities, according to new figures. Even in Milwaukee, where the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has been heavily promoted, thousands of eligible households haven’t signed up for the benefit that provides $30 a month toward the cost of internet service, also known as broadband.
Construction of a citywide high-speed open access internet network in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the first of its kind in Wisconsin (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Submitted by dclay@benton.org on Thu, 09/29/2022 - 12:11A fight between the FCC and a broadband provider could cost thousands of Wisconsin homes broadband internet service (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Submitted by Grace Tepper on Thu, 09/01/2022 - 15:10For the US to fully realize the economic and cultural benefits of broadband, it must reach everyone and be built to last
The best broadband, it's generally agreed, is an affordable connection that supports the needs of consumers and businesses for many years into the future. It's not unreasonable to achieve because fiber-optic cable, the industry's gold standard, has near limitless capabilities.
Broadband internet is creating jobs, and changing lives in Kentucky's 'Silicon Holler,' Wisconsin's Northwoods (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Submitted by benton on Thu, 06/10/2021 - 15:34Electricity transformed rural America nearly a century ago. Now, millions of people on farms and in small towns desperately need broadband.
At a time when people can work remotely and run businesses from practically anywhere, the internet should be a boon to the rural economy. Not only could it keep Wisconsin's signature farming industry connected, it could help curb population losses in small towns, where many young people feel they must leave for opportunities elsewhere. Yet a significant portion of rural Wisconsin — if it has access to the internet at all — lacks access at broadband speeds, meaning a connection of at least 25 megabit per second downloads and 3 Mbps uploads.