TDS lauds Governor Walker broadband announcement

Broadband investment proposals hold tremendous promise for Wisconsin residents.

Today, Governor Walker announced and forwarded important broadband investment proposals to state legislators. The proposals encourage policymakers to pass stand-alone legislation to increase funding for broadband expansion grants. The current program, which was created as part of the 2011-13 biennial budget, has an annual grant award budget of $1.5 million. The proposal Governor Walker announced today aggressively accelerates that amount to $15.5 million.

The following statement can be attributed to Drew Petersen, vice president of External Affairs and Communications for TDS Telecommunications Corp. (TDS®):

            “TDS is energized to continue working with Governor Walker and Wisconsin legislative leadership to expand broadband service to thousands of high-cost, hard-to-serve homes and businesses across our service footprint.

            “For years, TDS has focused on providing robust, reliable communications services for our rural and suburban customers. In fact, we have invested hundreds of millions of dollars bringing broadband service to more than 95 percent of our customers. We know these services bring essential educational and economic opportunities to high-cost, rural areas of the country.

            “Today’s action by the Governor shines an important spotlight on getting broadband service to all parts of the state. We have a proven track record when it comes to leveraging state and federal grants to improve and expand broadband service, here in Wisconsin and across the country. In fact, in recent years, we received grants from the Wisconsin Broadband Grant Program to provide broadband in the Town of Cranmoor, in central Wisconsin, and the Town of Berry, in southeastern Wisconsin. We plan to aggressively pursue more grants, should the legislature enact these important economic development proposals.

            “Wisconsin residents deserve highly reliable and affordable broadband service, no matter where they reside. With this announcement, Governor Walker has made broadband infrastructure investment a top budget priority. TDS looks forward to partnering with the State of Wisconsin to ensure broader coverage and availability of broadband thereby setting the course for Wisconsin to become the best in the upper Midwest.”

Media Contact: Cindy Tomlinson, Associate Manager - Public Relations | TDS Telecom | 608-664-4471 | cindy.tomlinson@tdstelecom.com

TDS Telecommunications LLC (TDS Telecom/TDS®) delivers high-speed internet, TV entertainment, and phone services to nearly 1,000 rural, suburban, and metropolitan communities across the U.S. With more than 1.2 million connections, TDS is a rapidly growing technology companies in the United States. Powered by fiber-optics and new industry-leading technologies, TDS delivers up to 1 Gigabit internet speeds and offers internet-protocol based TV entertainment solutions along with traditional phone services. TDS also offers businesses VoIP advanced communications solutions, dedicated internet service, data networking, and hosted-managed services. Visit tdstelecom.com.

TDS Telecom, headquartered in Madison, Wis., employs nearly 2,900 people and is a subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. [NYSE: TDS], a Fortune 1000® company. Founded in 1969, TDS Inc. employs 9,100 people and has approximately six million connections nationwide through its businesses U.S. Cellular, TDS Telecom, OneNeck IT Solutions LLC, and TDS Broadband Service. TDS Inc. has been named to several Forbes lists, including America's Best Employers for Diversity, Best Large Employers, and Best Employers for Women. Visit tdsinc.com.

Updated February 2019

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