The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) announced in a recent press release that the Broadband Infrastructure Program grant round is now open. Under the American Rescue Plan Act, the U.S. Department of Treasury awarded Wisconsin $42 million through the Capital Projects Fund (CPF) to administer the Broadband Infrastructure Program, investing in broadband construction and deployment that will provide high-quality internet to locations that lack access to adequate, affordable service.
The CPF is designed to address the barriers to internet access that existed pre-pandemic but were worsened by it. Broadband Infrastructure Program grant funds will be used to make necessary investments in broadband infrastructure designed to provide consistent, reliable, and high-performance broadband service to the areas most impacted statewide.
Eligible entities for the competitive grant program include internet service providers, telecommunications utilities, cooperatives, local governments, and for-profit and nonprofit organizations. The funding is available to construct broadband infrastructure projects to deploy reliable internet service that will meet or exceed 100/100 Mbps symmetrical speed internet service and include at least one low-cost option for work, education, and health monitoring.
The deadline to apply is Tuesday Nov. 7 at 1:30 p.m. More information on the CPF can be found on the PSC website’s Capital Projects Broadband page.
