Wisconsin access to high speed internet is patchy, and rural communities are more likely to have poor or no access to broadband. High speed internet is something many take for granted, but it has become an essential service akin to the electrification efforts of the 1930's. 

This lack of access has been highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, making virtual learning and remote work difficult to impossible.

Lack of high speed internet also puts small businesses in rural areas at a competitive disadvantage, as well as making rural areas less attractive for people planning to move or relocate (example, some places have seem a boom in remote workers relocating but this depends on having reliable high speed internet access). 

Extending reliable broadband service to rural Wisconsin would be beneficial post-pandemic by providing greater learning opportunities for young people, improving small business presence online, and making rural Wisconsin a more attractive option for those looking to relocate. 

The Wisconsin Legislature could take this effort up by considering the "Better Broadband legislative packet" initially proposed by Representatives Shankland, Schachtner, and Smith. Or other legislation could be drafted which addresses the hurdles to extending broadband including reworking state statute 66.0422 so the municipalities have more options to extend internet services. 

This should be a clear bipartisan issue to tackle that all of Wisconsin should be able to get behind, at a time when it feels difficult to find issues we can all agree on. Let's do this one together.