success story
Expanding broadband in rural Wisconsin
In northeast Wisconsin, working together brings results
Door County is one of Wisconsin’s biggest vacation meccas, but because of a lack of high-speed internet, some businesses cannot process credit card payments or sell their goods and services over e-commerce platforms. Telehealth visits are not accessible for many residents. And dead zones—where no cellular coverage is accessible—sometimes prevent even emergency services calls from going through.
Jessica Hatch, Door County Broadband Coordinator (left) and Barbara Koldos, Vice President of Business Development, New North Inc. (right)
“Only about 30%-33% of our population has sufficient broadband,” says Jessica Hatch, Door County broadband coordinator.
Door County’s natural beauty makes internet access difficult. It is a peninsula with a ragged shoreline, tall trees, and limestone bedrock, so installing fiber-optic cable for broadband is costly, and hundreds of cellular towers would be needed.
Picturesque, hilly landscapes—the very reasons people like living in and visiting rural Wisconsin—cause similar challenges in areas across the state.
But New North Inc., the economic development arm for 18 northeastern Wisconsin counties, has created new tools aimed at helping Door County and the entire region—with the potential for even wider impact if their model is replicated elsewhere.
Interactive map
The New North Broadband Overview Map is an interactive tool that communities within the region can employ. By inputting data on population, housing units, business and industrial parks, roads, and infrastructure, business and government leaders can plan economic growth, and as part of that, determine the viability of expanded high-speed internet access.
“We created a regional map, so all of the information is uniform,” says Barbara Koldos, vice president of business development at New North.
The mapping tool is the result of monthly meetings held since April 2023 by the New North Broadband Alliance, a group of the regional planning commissions, county representatives, and other partners. Sixteen counties participated in the project, which was funded by the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.
Hatch is one of the few designated community broadband coordinators among the counties in New North, and her expertise brought greater understanding of the challenges of expanding broadband service in rural and remote areas, says Delia Kovac, rural initiatives senior manager for WEDC’s Office of Rural Prosperity.
“Jessica’s on-the-ground expertise in Door County has really bolstered the New North Broadband Alliance’s mapping project,” says Kovac. “New North’s collaboration with community partners like Door County is an outstanding example of how agencies can work together effectively to expand broadband.”
New North also initiated a study to analyze the availability of broadband in the region and held workshops to prepare county officials to apply for BEAD grants.
Helpful Resources
Connecting Wisconsin: a Broadband Toolkit for Rural Economic Development
Barbara Koldos
Vice President of Business Development, New North Inc.
barbara.koldos@thenewnorth.com
Office: 920.336.3860; cell: 920.544.7626
Jessica Hatch
Door County Broadband Coordinator
jhatch@co.door.wi.us
Office: 920.746.2289; cell: 920.493.2237
Door County digs in
Door County is using the tools to take the next step—creating public-private partnerships to finance broadband expansion, Hatch says. In more than half of Door County’s communities, municipalities and internet service providers are banding together to share costs and, in some cases, apply for grants to bring fiber-optic cable to every home and business.
One key goal is to keep part-time residents there longer. Vacation home owners say they would spend an additional 15 days a year in Door County if they had access to high-speed internet, according to a survey conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2024. That could pour another $18.6 million a year into the local economy, the study says.
“The whole county is united” in pushing for expanded broadband, Hatch says. Residents will gain better access to emergency services, distance learning, and health care, and vacationers will benefit as well.
“If we all succeed, it’s going to help our region and our state succeed, too,” Hatch says.
“If we all succeed, it’s going to help our region and our state succeed, too.”
