CONTACT – Senator Howard Marklein, (608) 266-0703
Reedsburg, WI – Senator Howard Marklein joined the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC), the Wisconsin State Telecommunication Association (WSTA), the City of Reedsburg and the Reedsburg Utility Commission to celebrate the certification of the City of Reedsburg as a Telecommuter Forward! community. The group also recognized the Reedsburg Utility Commission for receiving two substantial Rural Broadband Expansion Grants.
Telecommuter Forward! Community Certification was created by Act 342, which was signed into law on April 18, 2018. Act 342 directed the PSC to create a certification program for a community to become a Telecommuter Forward! community. In order to be certified, a community must adopt a resolution that states its support and commitment to promote the availability of telecommuting options and that provides for a singles point of contact for coordinating telecommuting opportunities.
“The City of Reedsburg is the fourth city to be certified as a Telecommuter Forward! community! They are a perfect example of the goals of the bill I authored last spring. We want to give communities with terrific broadband capabilities a way to promote themselves to workers who can telecommute and the companies who hire telecommuting employees,” Marklein said. “Reedsburg’s awesome internet access is something to be proud of and promoted. It is a great place to live and work and recruit. Congratulations to the city of Reedsburg!”
“A healthy rural Wisconsin means a connected rural Wisconsin,” Rep. Ed Brooks (R-Reedsburg) said. “The promise of high-tech jobs combined with the rural lifestyle isn’t possible without being able to telecommute. The City of Reedsburg recognizes this and is on the way to ensuring a prosperous future for our community.”
“Senator Marklein is improving the quality of life in rural communities through broadband expansion and economic development,” said Bill Esbeck, Executive Director of the WSTA. “Our common goals created a productive partnership to expand rural broadband access and led to the new Telecommuter Forward! certification law. This first-in-the-nation certification will facilitate job creation and economic activity through broadband usage. Senator Marklein’s leadership and commitment to rural Wisconsin brings people together and produces positive results.”
“Reedsburg is thrilled to be the second community to be certified Telecommuter Forward!” Stephen Compton, City Administrator said. “This certification is one more way to empower and attract residents to our city where they can live and work with awesome broadband connections. We are proud of the Reedsburg Utility Commission’s unthrottled service that is available to all of our residents!”
“Reedsburg Utility Commission’s LightSpeed internet service provides unthrottled access to our gigabit fiber network, and is the fastest standard residential speed in the nation with speeds up to 1,000 megabits per second. With LightSpeed Internet, we’ve removed the bandwidth restrictions so customers can fully utilize all their connected devices and have the best online experience.” Brett Schuppner, General Manager of the Reedsburg Utility Commission said. “Reedsburg has been a leader in the telecommunication needs for our residents and businesses, and this Telecommuter Forward! Community certification attests to that commitment.”
“Thanks to private and public investment in broadband infrastructure, Telecommuter Forward! certification will serve as another economic development tool to promote the vitality of Wisconsin’s rural communities,” said State Broadband Director Angie Dickison. “Wisconsin is the first state in the country with a certification program to promote telecommuting.”
In addition to the Telecommuter Forward! certification announcement, the Reedsburg Utility also celebrated their recent award of two Rural Broadband Expansion Grants. Details follow:
- Reedsburg Utility Commission River Valley project – $305,550. This project will build a fiber backbone through the Village of Spring Green and extend a fiber to the premises service to unserved areas in the Town of Spring Green. The project will pass 35 businesses, 8 community locations and 262 residential locations.
- Reedsburg Utility Commission Town of Delton project – $137,722. This project will build a fiber to the premises service past 19 businesses and 134 homes adjacent to Highway 12 just south of I-90/94 at the Wisconsin Dells exit. This project area is northeast of RUC’s FY 2016 broadband project area.