Members of the Shawano County Broadband Task Force continue to strategize on how best to cover as many homes in the county as possible with high-speed internet service.
At a Jan. 18 meeting, they specifically discussed Tigerton, Navarino and the area northeast of Bonduel.
“Tigerton is like low-hanging fruit,” said Peter Thillman, chief economic development officer with Shawano County Economic Progress Inc., referring to the many homes there that are unserved or underserved and, therefore, ripe to be the recipient of grant money to extend broadband there. “Navarino is a big problem. Northeast of Bonduel is pretty bad, too.”
Matt Hietpas, director of technology services for the county, reminded the task force members that Wisconsin will get more than $1 billion in funds to expand broadband. Criteria and a timeline for the latest round of grants have yet to be determined. Every point will count when deciding who does and does not get a grant.
“Right here’s the key,” Hietpas said. “There’s 12 points available that is completely contingent upon community support and local and tribal coordination.”
So, if a company comes in just trying to hit as many places as possible without coordination from local authorities, they’ll miss out on on those points, and possibly the grant itself, he said.
“They are willing to allow from middle mile infrastructure if there’s long distances between these points,” Hietpas added, in reference to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, which will determine who gets grants.
Applications that tie in schools, health care needs, public safety and housing units will have an advantage.
“Any fiber to the farm is still important,” said Jim Davel, county administrative coordinator. “Talking about schools now, we have virtual days now. My kids can’t get on a virtual day.”
Rhonda Strebel mentioned that the additional services would be beneficial for the health care system, either as nurses try to access health records during home visits or patients using telehealth services.
“The problem was always access and really understanding broadband,” Davel said. “You see it in your health care. If you can’t get on through broadband, that’s where you bite the bullet and say, just like we did with electricity after World War II, and they went and ran electricity. It’s gotta be that level of dedication to the world community to get that up to speed.”
Thillman urged members to think about access first and affordability second.
Internet providers and working with neighboring counties on continuous service were also discussed.
“Cirrinity’s a big player on the west side, and on the east side, we have Nsight, Spectrum, and Frontier’s kind of peppered all over the place,” Hietpas said.
Results of an application for another project are expected in about two months. Shawano County is working with Cirrinity on the project.
This work would link Cirrinity’s fiber optic connection in Marion to the Stockbridge-Munsee community near the Town of Red Springs. It would focus on about 300 homes.
“We’re really focusing on houses, houses, houses and businesses,” Hietpas said. “They don’t want to see middle miles (without a connection).”
Public safety 911 towers are part of the project, which will likely increase the chances of getting a grant.
“We’re going to link up all of our 911 towers on the west end of the county, and that is hopefully going to get us a lot of points and support from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to push this project,” Hietpas said.
There are six towers on the west side of the county.
Hietpas and SCEPI will continue to actively look for more grant opportunities.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
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