14 Aug Doyle commits $7.5 million to cell phone and Internet access
Eagle River, Wis. – To address the lack of rural broadband service in Wisconsin, Gov. Jim Doyle has announced $7.5 million in sales tax exemptions and tax credits for businesses to expand broadband access, a move he said would provide cell phone and high speed Internet service to 350,000 Wisconsin residents.
Nine businesses claiming sales tax exemptions for the purchase of equipment used in the broadband market will receive an equivalent amount of Wisconsin income taxes in each of two succeeding years. According to the Governor’s office, the tax credits will help nine businesses invest more than $80 million to expand broadband access in 261 communities and 63 counties across the state.
“To grow our entire state economy, we must work from region to region, and develop efforts tailored to local communities,” Doyle said in a release. “For businesses, entrepreneurs, and families to be successful, they need access to cell phone and high-speed Internet access.”
The state has established an Internet Equipment Tax Credit and Exemption Program, which is designed to encourage the extension of high-speed Internet service to parts of Wisconsin currently unserved or served by only one provider.
The nine businesses expected to install broadband equipment include Amery Telcom, AT&T, CenturyTel, DiscoverNet of Wisconsin, Door Peninsula Internet, Lakeland Communications, Midwest Fiber Networks, Northern Net Exposure, and TDS Telecommunications Corp.
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