Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By ZACHARY MARANO
With the bipartisan infrastructure law delivering $65 billion to improve broadband access, Iron County, Wisconsin is in a prime position to capture funds to upgrade to high-speed internet, according to Iron County Development Zone Coordinator Kelly Klein.
But to qualify for additional state and federal grants for underserved areas, the county needs data to show that homes and businesses have little broadband access or internet speeds that fall below federal standards, said Klein.
To that end, the Iron County Development Zone is working with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and the Northwest Regional Planning Commission to roll out a simple internet speed test and they are asking residents and businesses to take the test to help establish where support is needed and build a case for funding.
“Access to high speed internet will help Iron County attract and retain businesses as well as attract new people to the county, especially young people and those who want to work remotely,” said Klein. “We need as many residents and businesses as possible to take this very easy speed test so we can map out projects, we won’t be able to do this without them.”
The test will help determine where internet speeds are below federal standards. To take the test, residents and businesses simply need to visit nwrpc.com/speedtest from their home or work location by May 8.
Those without internet access can help by logging onto the website from a friend’s home or a local library and then click on “Enter an address with no available service” to complete the survey.
According to a news release from the Iron County Development Zone, the test will only take a few moments and personal information is protected and not shared.