LinkWISCONSIN State Coordination
- On July 30, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) welcomed Tithi Chattopadhyay, Ph.D. as the first State Broadband Director.
Dr. Chattopadhyay will head up LinkWISCONSIN, the state's broadband mapping and planning project, as we continue to implement the goals of our grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). She will also take a leadership role in our endeavors to find new ways to position Wisconsin as a broadband leader.
Dr. Chattopadhyay joins us from Michigan State University where she recently completed her Ph.D. in Media and Information Studies. As part of her doctoral work, she has been working extensively on broadband adoption issues in the nation and in Michigan, including work with the NTIA. Prior to her time at MSU, Dr. Chattopadhyay worked at Ernst and Young in India on royalty and trademark issues.
The PSC and Dr. Chattopadhyay look forward to continued success as, together with broadband stakeholders across the state, we jointly seek innovative ways to enhance broadband availability, adoption and application to better serve Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle designated the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) as the Wisconsin entity eligible to apply for and receive a federal mapping grant under the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program (SBDD). This program is for broadband mapping and planning work in the State of Wisconsin.
In August 2009, the PSCW submitted a grant application to the NTIA seeking funding for broadband mapping activities for five years. This was later modified per NTIA request to address only the first two years of this program.
In November 2009, the NTIA announced they had awarded approximately $1.7 M for broadband mapping and planning in Wisconsin.
The PSCW contracted with the LinkAMERICA Alliance to assist the state with the mapping and planning activities. The PSCW and LinkAMERICA will work together to conduct broadband mapping and to develop a long-term, sustainable plan for increasing access to, and use of, broadband.
In summer 2010, NTIA announced they would accept updated grant applications from states to fund mapping and planning efforts for three additional years. An application was submitted for Wisconsin's continued SBDD efforts on July 1, 2010, and the state was awarded an additional $2.82 million to fund LinkWISCONSIN's broadband data development and capacity building programs for years 3-5.
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