The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) today announced the Broadband Infrastructure Program grant round is now open. Under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the U.S. Department of Treasury awarded Wisconsin $42 million through the Capital Projects Fund (CPF). The state will administer the Broadband Infrastructure Program and invest in broadband construction and deployment. This will provide quality internet to locations that lack access to good, affordable service.
“We have come a long way to connect more homes and businesses to affordable, reliable internet service since the beginning of the pandemic, but barriers still exist for many in our state,” said PSC Chairperson Rebecca Cameron Valcq. “The Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program supports the Evers Administration’s ongoing work by investing in projects that improve access to high-speed internet for communities that were most impacted by the pandemic.”
The CPF will address challenges to internet access. Broadband Infrastructure Program grant funds are available to make necessary investments in broadband infrastructure. Investments need to provide consistent, reliable, and high-performance broadband service.
Eligible groups for the grants include internet service providers, telecommunications utilities, co-operatives, local governments, and for-profit and non-profit organizations. The funding is available for projects providing internet service that will meet or exceed 100/100 Mbps speed internet service. They must also include at least one low-cost option for work, education, and health monitoring.
Applications are due Tuesday November 7, 2023 at 1:30 pm. More information on the Capital Projects Fund is available on the Capital Projects Broadband page on the PSC website.
The Wisconsin Broadband Office is holding two webinars. The Capital Projects Application Overview webinar will be on September 8, 2023 at 11:00 am. This live webinar will walk through the grant program, eligible subrecipients and projects, merit criteria and how to submit grants through the new PSC Grants Management System. The “How to Map Your Capital Project” webinar will be held on September 14, 2023 at 1:00 pm. Questions for these webinars will be taken at the end of this presentation or can be sent ahead of time to [email protected].
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