Chairperson Rebecca Cameron Valcq. “These projects are another step toward minimizing the digital device.”

Projects range in size from $40,000 to $2.2 million. The PSC funded 49 fiber to the premises projects, six fixed wireless projects, one fiber middle mile project and two cable projects.

Gov. Tony Evers said he “declared 2021 as the ‘The Year of Broadband,’ which is why the budget that I sent to the legislature allocates $200 million for access to this critical service. These are resources that our Wisconsin families need to thrive in the 21st century,” said Evers.

The PSC said the grants “help find a path to return on investment in areas of the state that are challenging to serve due to population density or geography.”

Last spring, the PSC awarded $24 million for 72 grants to extend high-speed broadband internet in the state, including projects in Pierce County.

In this round of grants, funding will go to one cable and three fiber projects.

Here are descriptions of the Pierce County projects that will be underway with this grant funding with descriptions provided by the PSC:

•Hager Telecom d/b/a Bevcomm, Towns of Hartland and Trenton fiber project – $307,686. This project will build a Fiber-To-The-Premises (FTTP) service past 13 businesses and 155 residences in the Towns of Hartland and Trenton in Pierce County. This project area is immediately east of the fiscal- year 2020 Bevcomm Hager City grant project. That project was described as follows: Diamond Bluff Phase III project – $444,211. This project will build a Fiber to the Premises service past 10 business and 201 residential locations in the Town of Diamond Bluff in Pierce County. This is the third and final phase of a Hager Telecom project in the Diamond Bluff township.

•Midcontinent Communications, Ellsworth cable project – $83,169. This project will build a cable internet service past 5 businesses and 49 residential locations in two neighborhoods, one is west of Ellsworth in the Town of Trimbelle and the second is south of Ellsworth in the Town of Ellsworth.

•Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services, Beldenville fiber project – $473,273. This project will build a Fiber-To-The-Premises (FTTP) service past 13 businesses and 229 residential locations in the Town of River Falls in Pierce County.

•Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services, Trimbelle fiber project – $316,189. This project will build a Fiber-To-The-Premises (FTTP) service past 18 businesses and 294 residential locations in the Towns of Oak Grove, Trenton, and Trimbelle, in Pierce County.

Folsom and the PCEDC have advocated for better broadband here.

“It’s a really good start,” he said of the round of grants. “It’s actually taking the broadband infrastructure development in Pierce County and moving it forward more quickly. When we get four project applications funded for $1.3 million and those projects will service 49 businesses and 729 residences, that’s a big jump.: He noted that the Pierce projects were appealing because the providers – Bevcomm, Midcontinent Communications and Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services are all investing along with the grant money.

“What’s really good to point out with these projects if the broadband providers are putting in significant funding of their own. That’s part of the reason they were successful in getting funding for their projects,” said Folsom.

Folsom said there’s a significant public-private partnership also, as Pierce County townships were asked to pass an ordinance for certification as Broadband Forward! Communities through the PSC. In doing that, they passed an ordinance that “ensures the local unit of government has streamlined its administrative procedures by appointing a single point of contact for all matters relating to a broadband network project, adhering to a timely approval process, charging only reasonable fees for reviewing applications and issuing permits, imposing only reasonable conditions on a permit and not discriminating between telecommunications service providers,” according to the PSC Folsom said 91 of the 124 applications for funding had public-private partnerships.

“One was to bring a public private partnership into the process is through Broadband Forward! designation. That’s why we’ve been encouraging Broadband Forward! designation at the township level,” he said.

Another thing Pierce County could help on at some point would be to provide matching funds in future applications. He pointed out that 20 of the 124 applications this time had matching funds from local units of government.

“Typically, it’s from the township, the county or both,” said. Folsom.

He said the PSC also highlighted involvement in broadband projects from rural electric cooperatives, like Pierce Pepin Cooperative.

“They’re determined to expand broadband access,” said Folsom. “I think it’s really exciting. These utilities are making a significant investment in our communities.”

He said it’s also important for residents who have access to the new service to sign up when the time comes.

“It’s really incumbent upon us when they provide an opportunity to this level of broadband service to our businesses and our home that we participate and sign up and use it,” said Folsom.

Folsom is hopeful that the county itself will take a bigger role in helping get more broadband projects off the ground and to get the county completely wired.

“We’re a long ways away from where we need to be in Pierce County. This is only the start of getting our broadband infrastructure in Pierce County built out.”