Events

Extension: Wisconsin BEAD Benefit of the Bargain public comment webinar Thursday, August 21, 2025

Wisconsin Broadband Office (WBO) housed at the Public Service Commission closed its Benefit of the Bargain (BOB) round of the BEAD program on July 28th. From these applications it has made its preliminary decisions. There will also be opening a SHORT window for public comment. Although we don’t have the exact dates, we do know this entire process will be completed before Labor Day. Wisconsin will submit its proposal with all preliminary awards to NTIA the first week of September. ALL AWARDS ARE PRLIMINARY UNTIL NTIA GIVES FINAL APPROVAL.

NITA in its new BEAD BOB guidelines places preference on the cheapest installation and has removed community endorsement from scoring. With that in mind it will be critical for communities and individuals to officially voice their opinions on the preliminary awards through the official public comment period. This public comment period will be your only opportunity to make your wishes know in the public record.

The Extension Broadband Team has scheduled a Preparing for BEAD BOB Public Comment Webinar for Thursday, August 21st, 12 noon – 1 pm to learn how to submit your public comment.

Date: Thursday, August 21, 2025
Time: Noon – 1 PM CST
Registration: Preparing for BEAD BOB Public Comment webinar registration

Extension: Wisconsin BEAD BOB public comment office hours August 22, 25-28, 2025

The public comment period for BEAD will open soon and be completed before the end of August. This will be the only opportunity for communities and individuals to go on public record in regard to the BEAD BOB preliminary awards. As a reminder all previous endorsements were not allowed to be considered based on the new NTIA BEAD Benefit of the Bargain requirements. This may mean that a proposal endorsed by a community or the type of infrastructure desired was not given a preliminary award.

To assist communities and individuals in filing their BEAD BOB public comment the Extension Broadband Team will hold office hours throughout the public comment period.

A special edition of the Extension broadband newsletter will be sent once the public comment period is announced.

Registration: Wisconsin BEAD BOB Public Comment office hours registration

Office Hours:

• Friday, August 22, 2025, 9 AM – 10 AM
• Monday, August 25, 2025, Noon – 1 PM
• Tuesday, August 26, 2025, 9 AM – 10 AM
• Wednesday, August 27, 2025, Noon – 1 PM
• Thursday, August 28, 2025, 9 AM – 10 AM

Extension: Digital Navigator Network meeting Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Does your organization teach digital skills or help people navigate technology? Consider joining the Wisconsin Digital Navigator Network, hosted by UW-Madison Extension. This statewide initiative supports non-profits, governmental entities, and others engaged in digital skills development across Wisconsin.

These virtual meetings generally occur the first Wednesday of each month. The next meeting is Wednesday, September 3 at 10 a.m.

To join, please contact Jessica Beckendorf.

Universal Service Fund (USF) Working Group – Request for Comment

The Supreme Court recently ruled that the FCC has the authority to operate and fund the Universal Service Fund. Originally designed to subsidize telephone service, since 2011 the fund has expanded its goals to supporting broadband universal service. The USF’s four main programs include : E-rate program, high-cost program, Lifeline program, and rural health care program.

The current funding mechanism of taxing interstate telephone services has had significant criticism with call for reform. A bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives has created the Universal Service Working Group to take a fresh look at both the funding and the use of the USF.

Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), one of the members of the working group, has created a comment portal on her website to get feedback from the public on Universal Service Fund reform. This is similar to the public comments that are routinely solicited by the FCC for issues it is considering. Comments will be sent to all members of the USF working group.

The portal includes nine questions about the program effectiveness and considerations for reform, and respondents can respond to any or all of the questions. Comments can be typed into a text box associated with each question or emailed to the working group. Comments are due by midnight, September 15.

NTIA webinar “Permitting for Broadband Infrastructure Projects” Tuesday, September 30, 2025

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will host a public webinar on permitting as it relates to deploying broadbands projects. The webinar will go over resources available to NTIA grant recipients and how they can leverage NTIA’s streamlining tools to navigate National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and permitting reviews as well as approval processes for broadband projects. The webinar will also go over the types of permits a deployment may require, the process for securing an easement or right of way access, steps to obtaining permission to access federal/state/local land, and ways to reduce potential delays to deployment.

If you would like to request an accommodation to participate in this webinar, please email your request to broadbandusa@ntia.gov. A NTIA staff member will follow up with you shortly regarding your request.

Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Time: 2 PM CST
Registration: Permitting for Broadband Infrastructure Projects webinar registration