By GRETCHEN VAUGHN | Viroqua
Gov. Walker is going around Wisconsin touting “Broadband Forward!” as advancing Internet access and speed. But there’s more to the story that makes it doubtful whether our governor is putting our best interests ahead of big business, this time AT&T. Internet and industry experts say Walker’s efforts to bridge the gap between urban and rural broadband fall short; that Wisconsin’s not spending nearly enough money to do the job.
In 2012, Walker turned down $23 million in federal money to expand broadband. Lee Nerison voted against spending $22.9 million, which would have been possible if Wisconsin had accepted the money. In 2014, Wisconsin spent $500,000, compared with Minnesota’s $20 million. Now Wisconsin is spending $1.5 million a year for four years. That’s $17 million less than the federal grant. And it’s paltry compared with Minnesota’s $10 million in 2015 and Gov. Dayton’s proposal to spend $100 million over several years. Asked during a press conference in Viroqua whether broadband accessibility might have improved more quickly if he hadn’t rejected the federal money, Walker said he’d have to review the record on that question. Wouldn’t it have been smarter for our governor to have done this review before rejecting the federal money?
I encourage our readers to think about this issue and let their legislators know how they feel.