Waupaca County Broadband Listening Session January 20, 2016 Dave Thiel, WCEDC Ryan Brown, Waupaca County Planning Dept. Jessica Beckcndorf, Waupaca County UW-Extension

Welcome

Why Broadband? Meeting purpose and broadband background information

BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT: access and adoption Waupaca County Courthouse Wednesday, January 27, 2016 Broadband & E-Commerce Education Center | |

Mary Kluz Community Development Outreach

Broadband is “Always on” High speed internet access Capable of carrying multiple devices simultaneously

Bits, Bytes, and Bandwidth Kbps, Mbps, Gbps = bits per second Kilobits, megabits, or gigabits per second Measure of data transfer rates 1 mbps is ~ 1000 times faster than 1 kbps KB, MB, GB = Kilobytes, Megabytes, Gigabytes Measurement of file size (i.e. movie ~ 6000MB) Download and Streaming

Download Speed Comparison

Research in the U.S. shows… 56% of businesses and organizations say broadband is essential for remaining in current location 56% of households say they would definitely/likely relocate if broadband was not available 32% of households work from home or have a home-based business The Internet has become the highway for technology Source: SNG Digital Economy Database n = 19,951 businesses and 9,318 households

Median Household Income Growth: High BB Adoption Vs. Otherwise Similar Whitacre, Galardo, Strover for the National Agricultural and Rural Development and Policy Center, 2013

Disruptive Innovation recreation business work school health

Interaction between factors affecting broadband development Internet service provider activity Availability of infrastructur e Consumer demand / adoption Consumer confidence Potential public role? Affordability Consumer savvy Regulations Return on Investment

Developing broadband: the players Federal level: – Federal Communication Commission (FCC) – National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) guide-federal-funding-broadband-projects guide-federal-funding-broadband-projects – US Department of Agriculture (USDA), others who administer grants and loans State level: – Public Service Commission PSC

Local level – Consumers judge it according to Speed Cost Reliability – Government (county & municipal) Developing broadband: the players

Waupaca County Comprehensive Planning Broadband Definition: High speed internet access that is always on and faster than traditional dial-up access, and which uses a wide range of frequencies, allowing large amounts of data to be transmitted simultaneously.

Waupaca County Comprehensive Planning Broadband Federal Communications Commission Standard In a January 29 th 2015 news release, the FCC updated its broadband speed benchmarks to 25 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads, and 3 Mbps for uploads. The 4 Mbps for downloads, and 1 Mbps for uploads standard set in 2010 was dated and inadequate for evaluating whether broadband is being deployed to all Americans in a timely way (the FCC found).

Waupaca County Comprehensive Planning Broadband Key Findings From FCC Report: 17 percent of all Americans (55 million people) lack access to 25 Mbps/3 Mbps service. 53 percent of rural Americans (22 million people) lack access to 25 Mbps/3 Mbps service. By contrast, only 8% of urban Americans lack access to 25 Mbps/3 Mbps broadband service.

Waupaca County Comprehensive Planning Broadband Key Findings From FCC Report: Rural broadband continues to be underserved at all speeds: 20% lack access even to service at 4 Mbps/1 Mbps service, down only 1% from 2011, and 31% lack access to 10 Mbps/1 Mbps service, down only 4% from Overall, the gap in availability of broadband at 25/3 closed only 3%, from 20% lacking access to 17%. Americans living in rural and urban areas adopt broadband at similar rates where 25 Mbps/3 Mbps service is available, with 28% adoption rates in rural areas, and 30% in urban areas.

Waupaca County Comprehensive Planning Broadband Wisconsin Statistics: 86.2% of Wisconsinites have access to wired broadband 25mbps/3 Mbps service, or faster (average speed is 23.8 Mbps). Since 2011, access to a wired connection of at least 10mbps has improved from 87.2% to 91.4% of Wisconsinites. 40.2% of Wisconsinites have access to broadband 100mbps or faster. 0.5% of Wisconsinites have access to 1 gigabit broadband. Wisconsin is the 23 rd most connected state in the U.S (based on the 25 Mbps/3 Mbps federal standard). 20% of Wisconsin’s population has less than 2 providers of wired broadband service.

Waupaca County Comprehensive Planning Broadband Wisconsin Statistics (Wired & Wireless Coverages): 95.9% of Wisconsinites have access to wireline service. 86.7% of Wisconsinites have access to DSL service. 84.5% of Wisconsinites have access to cable service. 4.9% of Wisconsinites have access to fiber-optic service. 53.3% of Wisconsinites have access to fixed wireless service. 99.7% of Wisconsinites have access to mobile broadband service.

Waupaca County Comprehensive Planning Broadband Wisconsin Statistics: In total there are 166 broadband providers in Wisconsin. There are 804,000 people in Wisconsin without access to a wired connection capable of 25mbps download speeds. There are 954,000 people in Wisconsin that have access to only one wired provider, leaving them no options to switch. Another 202,000 people in Wisconsin don't have any wired internet providers available where they live.

Waupaca County Comprehensive Planning Broadband Waupaca County Statistics: 68% of Waupaca County residents have access to wired broadband 25mbps/3 Mbps service. 62.8% of Waupaca County residents have access to broadband 100mbps or faster. 0% of Waupaca County residents have access to 1 gigabit broadband.

Waupaca County Comprehensive Planning Broadband Waupaca County Statistics: In Waupaca County, approximately 18,000 people do not have access to 25mbps wired broadband. Approximately 4,000 people in Waupaca County don't have access to any wired internet. 75% of residents in Waupaca County have access to fixed wireless internet service. Fiber optic internet is available to just 1% of Waupaca County residents.

Waupaca County Comprehensive Planning Broadband Government Funding: Since 2010, Link Wisconsin has been awarded $4,540,152 in federal grants for Wisconsin's Broadband Initiative. Another $57,969,654, accounting for 1.7% of all federal infrastructure grants, was awarded to broadband infrastructure projects in Wisconsin.

Waupaca County Comprehensive Planning Broadband Government Funding: State of the State: Broadband [Excerpt] "You see, we now compete in a global economy. Education will drive success, as will technology. That is why I am glad that we tripled the amount of funding in our budget dedicated this year for broadband access across the state. People can do business anywhere in the world, but they need access to high speed internet connections. Our program partners with local investments to install a fiber network. Once completed, a private company provides the service. Without our assistance, rural areas would be deprived of quality internet access because private companies could not justify the rate of return on investment. Our program helps small businesses, family farmers, tourism attractions, and public schools across the state." --Gov. Walker, State of the State Address 2016

Waupaca County Comprehensive Planning Broadband Government Funding: Legislation introduced recently would increase the PSC-W Broadband Expansion Grant dollar amount. This bill allows the Public Service Commission to make a total of $10,000,000 in broadband expansion grants during fiscal years and Under current law, the PSC makes the grants to eligible applicants for the purpose of constructing broadband infrastructure in underserved areas. Current law provides $6,000,000 in funding for the grants, but prohibits the PSC from making more than $1,500,000 in grants in a fiscal year. If the PSC makes less than $10,000,000 in grants in those fiscal years, the amount remaining lapses to the general fund.

Local Broadband Status   ewer/index.html ewer/index.html

Discuss: What would a connected Waupaca County look like? Will our communities be any different? Will the way we work, interact, and do business improve our quality of life?

Next Steps Interest in being involved in efforts to expand broadband in Waupaca County?

Thank you!