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High Speed Rural Internet
Wisconsin is spending millions of more dollars on high speed internet, despite on-going questions about the millions the state has already spent.
Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday announced the state will be spending $60 million "to expand access to high-speed internet in unserved communities."
“I’m jazzed that we’re working to get this funding out the door so we can move forward with our state’s efforts to close the digital divide and ensure folks and families have the reliable, affordable high-speed internet they need and deserve," the governor said.
Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission will oversee the spending, and said it is now accepting applications from communities that qualify.
But the $60 million comes as lawmakers continue to ask where the nearly $850 million Wisconsin has already received for internet access has gone.
Gov. Evers announced $100 million in internet spending back in 2022, and then announced another $750 million in spending in 2023.
A legislative audit in 2022 found that much of the first round of money was spent without strict oversight, clear goals, or any real accounting.
"[The] PSC did not establish written program policies for administering the funds, and almost all of the documents that providers submitted in support of their reimbursement requests did not indicate the amounts they had actually paid to construct the projects," auditors wrote. "PSC used ARPA funds to award 83 grants totaling $99.9 million for projects to construct fiber-optic broadband infrastructure. PSC did not establish comprehensive written program policies and did not consistently adhere to its grant application instructions when deciding which projects to fund."
Lawmakers said in 2023 that they never got any answers from that 2022 round of spending, and said they had questions about the next round as well.
“Did we get what we paid for,” Sen. Howard Marklein said during a hearing. “I’m concerned we don’t have hard evidence that the citizens are being served.”
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