Jessica Hatch, Door County Broadband coordinator. File photo.

County broadband office transitioning to a new phase

All corners of Door County are one step closer to faster, more reliable internet. That’s because preliminary federal awards show nearly $20 million for broadband expansion across the peninsula.

The funding comes from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, which recently announced the provisional awards under its Benefit of the Bargain (BOB) round – part of revised guidelines released June 6. Applications for this round opened July 17. 

While awards are still preliminary, the scale of Door County’s funding is the eighth highest in the state, according to Jessica Hatch, Door County broadband coordinator.

“All 5,975 eligible locations in the county will be covered under the current BEAD BOB round, bridging gaps identified in previous grant cycles,” Hatch said. “Nearly $20 million in preliminary funding positions Door County as a leader in fiber expansion, with extensive

projects planned for both buried and aerial fiber infrastructure.”

Funding and Award Breakdown

The $19,923,531 in preliminary awards would fund 5,508 locations with fiber, 151 locations with licensed fixed wireless, and 324 locations with low-earth satellite. 

Door County had prioritized a fiber-to-the-premises approach from the beginning and Hatch said she was pleased to see the majority of the locations are still expected to receive fiber.

Municipalities that had already committed to a partnership with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) were not eligible for the BEAD awards and are already on their way to bringing fiber to their communities. 

The provisional awards were distributed among ISPs as follows: 

• AT&T – $678,907 – Serving 623 locations with 48 miles of aerial fiber and 112 miles of buried fiber.

• Bertram Communications – $1,329,906 – Serving 223 locations with 89 miles of buried fiber.

• Brightspeed/Connect Holding – Serving eight Community Anchor Institutions in Southern Door with four miles of buried fiber; and $6,917,512 to serve 2,773 additional locations, with fiber mileage to be determined.

• Frontier Communications/Verizon – $10,398,689 – Fiber broadband project that will serve 1,881 broadband serviceable locations with 412 miles of aerial fiber and 617 miles of buried fiber.

• NET LEC LLC DBA (Nsight Teleservices) – $112,517 – Licensed fixed wireless to 151 locations in the Town of Nasewaupee and one on Plum Island.

• SpaceX (Starlink) – $486,000 – Low Earth Orbit satellite service to 324 locations, primarily in the towns of Forestville and Brussels, with some in the Town of Union, and on Detroit Island and Rock Island.

ISPs bid on service areas not already covered by existing public-private partnerships or funding commitments. Frontier received the largest award, in part because it bid on the most units, including the Town of Liberty Grove, Door County’s largest municipality by area. 

“They had a pretty sizeable award also because the municipality provided matching funds,” Hatch said. “Liberty Grove was the only municipality that provided matching funds.”  

What’s Next

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has submitted the final proposal to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which oversees the BEAD program. NTIA will make the final funding decisions. If approved, construction could begin in 2026, with providers given up to four years to complete their projects. 

In the meantime, the Door County Broadband Office will continue providing monthly status updates for all municipalities. The public can access these updates on the county’s municipal dashboard at fibernetdoorcounty.org. 

County Broadband Office Transitioning to Access and Support

The county’s broadband office and Hatch’s position were created using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the $1.9 trillion stimulus package supporting recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The County of Door received $5.37 million in ARPA funds in 2022, with $1 million allocated to create a broadband coordinator position. Hatch was hired in April 2022.

At the time, County Administrator Ken Pabich projected the position would last eight to 10 years, and anticipated continued investment beyond ARPA. When asked for an update on those projections this week, he said he did not think they would need additional funds and still believes the position is in that eight-to-10-year window. 

“I think it is critical to truly finish the project cycle,” Pabich said. “If we have fiber in the ground, but it is not leveraged, then we have not completed the cycle. With this position, we are able to continue to work with communities to ensure final construction, project completion and now also ensure we are leveraging the technology.” 

Pabich said a lot has been achieved since Hatch’s position was created. 

“The efforts that have been made put Door County in a position to be in front of the state and nation on deployment,” he said. “The amount of fiber that will be deployed in Door County is amazing. This is all based on the local committees, the county committee and the work of the broadband coordinator position.”

Hatch has helped shape the county’s fiber expansion efforts by guiding municipalities through grant funding and ISP partnerships and providing communication, information and resource sharing. 

“We’ve done everything we can locally to get us where we are – to get these grants and municipalities doing the work,” Hatch said. 

With initial ARPA funds still available – Pabich said about $280,000 still remains from that $1 million allocation – Hatch’s position is now transitioning to focus on helping residents adopt and benefit from the newly installed broadband services. 

This next phase echoes the approach taken after the 1936 Electrification Act, when home economists were deployed to help rural families learn how to use electricity in everyday life. Similarly, Hatch will assist residents in understanding the new services and using digital tools, whether for telehealth, remote work, or everyday transactions that increasingly require online access.

“Veterans’ services, for example,” Hatch said. “You can’t really do that without going online.”

She’ll also continue to monitor broadband progress and provide updates, while supporting digital skill-building, such as using laptops, accessing online medical care, or understanding infrastructure improvements. She plans to partner with local nonprofits already offering tech and digital literacy programs to expand awareness and reach. 

What’s Ahead

Hatch’s oversight Broadband Committee’s final meeting was Oct. 9. A new committee, if approved by the full county board, will begin in January 2026, with members drawn from fields like education, healthcare, libraries and nonprofits.

What’s Happening With Broadband in Your Community

The Door County Broadband Office provides monthly broadband work status updates for all municipalities across the peninsula. Find this municipal dashboard at fibernetdoorcounty.org by clicking on ‘Work Product’ in the left sidebar, and then ‘Municipal Dashboard’ at the bottom of the left sidebar.

Preliminary Award Locations

Note that all municipalities not shown below were not eligible for federal BEAD funding because they already have partnerships and funding commitments and are at various stages of fiber-to-the-premises installations.

Brussels – Over 380 locations, primarily for fiber through Brightspeed, with some SpaceX Low Earth Orbit satellite locations.

Ephraim – Over 50 locations awarded for fiber through Frontier.

Forestville (town) – Over 530 locations, primarily fiber through Brightspeed and Bertram Communications. The central part of the town was awarded SpaceX Low Earth Orbit satellite service. 

Forestville (village) – Over 200 locations awarded for fiber through Brightspeed. 

Gardner – Over 780 locations, with fiber split between Brightspeed and Bertram Communications, and a handful of SpaceX Low Earth Orbit satellite locations. 

Liberty Grove – Over 1,770 locations awarded for fiber through Frontier.

Nasewaupee – Over 1,215 locations with fiber through a mix of AT&T, Bertram Communications and Brightspeed. Also includes a corridor of fixed wireless service awarded to Nsight/Cellcom, and a handful of SpaceX Low Earth Orbit satellite locations.