High-speed Internet service not available to all residents

By Malavika Jagannathan
mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com

Stimulus dollars could help local companies expand the reach of broadband high-speed Internet service in Northeastern Wisconsin, a service that rural residents say still is out of reach.

Broadband or high-speed Internet uses cables, fiber optics, telephone lines, power lines, satellite or wireless to transmit data digitally, resulting in quicker upload and download speeds.

"Broadband is important for education, important for economic development," said Gary Evenson of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. "If a business is thinking of moving in a rural part of the state, they're going to want broadband access to run their business. It's recognized as a new important piece of economic interaction in this country."

The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act made $7.2 billion available to projects that would extend and expand broadband service in underserved and unserved areas. At least two local companies — Cellcom and Hilbert Communications — have applied for more than $100 million in projects and expect to find out if they will receive them by the end of the year.

About 80 percent of Wisconsin residents have access to broadband if they want it, Evenson said. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin conducted a customer survey to determine where broadband existed and where it was lacking.

Of the 8,559 responses received through October in the voluntary survey, more than half, or 5,092, reported not having broadband. Many of those respondents — about 4,515 — said broadband simply wasn't available in their area.

That included parts of the sparsely populated northern and northwestern Wisconsin. But it's not just remote rural areas that lack access.

Others said it was too expensive or reported that they didn't have a computer. The survey wasn't scientific, but it presented an idea of how the public felt about broadband access and use, Evenson said.

"Basically what we saw is that we got a lot of response from places that we frankly expected it," Evenson said.

"A lot of technologies are distance sensitive. The vast majority of the Green Bay or Sturgeon Bay exchange could get broadband if they wanted, but if they're a few miles out, under current technologies, you may not have it available."

Mindy Hoffman lives in the town of Oneida, about 10 miles from De Pere, and uses a satellite Internet provider because it's the only option in her neighborhood.

"No one has cable out here, so it's either this or a different kind of dish (satellite service)," Hoffman said. "It's just that they don't have enough customers out here to make the investment."

Cellcom, the Howard-based subsidiary of Nsight, and Green Bay-based Hilbert Communications both hope to expand broadband service.

Cellcom requested about $13.7 million to expand fixed and mobile wireless broadband — using their cellular towers — to six counties in northern Wisconsin and three counties in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

"The one thing about the project is that it has to be sustainable," said Michael O'Malley, director of internal controls and operations for Cellcom. "We have towers that already provide cellular coverage in areas that are unserved or underserved from a broadband perspective. It doesn't take much to go to the next step."

The company primarily will offer wireless broadband, but also enable other providers to use their fiber optic network from Wausau, O'Malley said. In July 2008, Cellcom made wireless broadband available in Door County, a venture they use as an example for this plan.

"A lot of local carriers just aren't interested in bringing service to that area because it takes a lot of investment," O'Malley said. "Our solution was to use the wireless signals from the tower."

The population density in northern Wisconsin tends to be low, so it costs more to provide service to each household. If the project goes through, O'Malley said he's confident it will reach about 10 percent of those statewide who reported not having access to the Public Service Commission within two years.

Hilbert Communications, which already has begun expanding service in Sauk County, asked for about $100 million to build high-speed and fiber-optic connections, as well as create public sites in 26 counties. That should reach about half a million unserved customers, said Steven Schneider, president of Hilbert Communications.

Schneider said service lags even in more heavily populated parts of the state like Dane, Brown and St. Croix counties.

"Consumer expectation has really changed in the last 15 years, and rural areas have the same needs or demands as a metropolitan area," Schneider said. "In reality, once they have access to those services, people in those areas tend to use them more."

Work on the expansion can begin almost immediately once the stimulus funding comes through with an average turnaround time of six months, Schneider said. Even if they don't get the money, the company still plans to expand service around Kewaunee, Tomah, Mauston and Sturgeon Bay.

More than a dozen people from all over Northeastern Wisconsin and elsewhere who responded to a Green Bay Press-Gazette solicitation said they didn't have access to broadband. Others said it was too expensive for them. About 889 of those who responded to the Public Service's Commission's survey said broadband was too expensive for them.

Denmark resident Kevin Vogel uses dial-up Internet service through America Online, but would prefer a high-speed access. He's been looking for low-cost broadband service for several years now, but without much success.

"Right now it's just not available," Vogel said. "Most times I go into Bean Boulevard, where they have high-speed Internet. I could get mobile broadband, but that's just too expensive."

Vogel isn't alone in this predicament. Underserved areas — with one or two providers — typically see higher prices for the service, according to a Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project survey conducted earlier this year.

Home high-speed users who reported more choices of providers paid less than others, according to the survey. Broadband users with one provider in the area typically paid $44.70 per month, while those with at least four service providers reported an average bill of $32.10.