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MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today delivered the Democratic Radio Address highlighting the administration’s efforts to close the digital divide and expand high-speed internet across the state, as well as a recent $1 billion federal investment through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program.
Hey there. Governor Tony Evers here.
Folks, expanding access to high-speed internet across Wisconsin has been a top priority for my administration since Day One.
And we’re proud that no administration in state history has done more to expand access to high-speed internet than we have.
Since 2019, we’ve allocated more than $340 million to ensure more than 395,000 homes and businesses will have new or improved, reliable, high-speed internet.
And now, thanks to a more than $1 billion investment through the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, we’ll be able to keep building on upon our progress in getting folks connected and closing the digital divide in every corner of the state.
Having access to reliable, high-speed internet is a necessity for how we do work, how we learn, and how we see our doctors, how we stay connected to our communities, and so much more.
Unfortunately, Republicans rejected my plan to invest $750 million into expanding access to high-speed internet and provided zero new state dollars to get every home and business in Wisconsin connected to high-speed internet.
And while federal funding will help bolster our efforts, we still have much more work to do to close the digital divide in our state.
With a historic state surplus available, this should be a priority because the longer it takes to get everybody connected, the more costly it will be for our state to catch up.
We’re going to keep working to make sure high-speed internet is accessible and affordable for our kids to learn, our families to get connected to resources like healthcare, and for employers and workers to keep our economy growing.
Thank you.
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