A key point of emphasis in Governor Scott Walker's speech last week in Minocqua centered on the need for getting everyone in the Northwoods access to high-speed internet.
The state has been providing grant assistance to business to put service in rural areas.
"....my goal in this budget cycle is to have the resources, doing it in conjunction with the federal resources. In the second(federal grant) round, Wisconsin was one of the top states in terms of what was awarded. Take the federal resources, state resources and blanket the state...."
He said businesses in rural Wisconsin have been complaining they can't do as much as they could do largely because they can't get fast enough internet. He says broadband has become a core economic development issue...
"....I'd like to go as aggressively as we can, we think it's an incredibly important issue The sooner we can get a fiber network in every part of the state the better...."
Walker says more Millenials would be attracted to work in the beauty of northern Wisconsin if they could work in areas that put them at high speed on the Internet. Walker says he will continue to push for federal resources to combine with state money to keep rolling out the service.
