Broadband Committee Agenda Packet (pdf)

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person needing assistance to participate in this meeting, should contact the Office of the County Clerk at (920)746 2200. Notification 72 hours prior to a meeting will enable the County to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to that meeting. Notice of Public Meeting Tuesday, April 7, 2026 11:00 a.m. BROADBAND COMMITTEE Door County Government Center Peninsula Room (C121), 1st floor 421 Nebraska Street, Sturgeon Bay, WI AGENDA 1. Call Meeting to Order 2. Establish a Quorum ~ Roll Call 3. Adopt Agenda / Properly Notice 4. Correspondence – 5. Public Comment 6. Approve Minutes of the January 8, 2026 Broadband Committee meeting 7. New Business (Review / Action) A. Digital Skills Survey Update – UW Extension Partnership update B. AT&T/DCEDC/NEW North device distribution event – report C. Who Carries the Cost of Digital Transformation? - Discussion D. Broadband Nutrition Labels – Discussion E. FiberNet website disability compliance for 2027- Update 8. Matters to be Placed on a Future Agenda or Referred to a Committee, Official, or Employee 9. Sustainability Matters to be Considered 10. Legislative Matters to be Considered 11. Next Meeting Date: July 7, 2026 12. Adjourn Deviation from Order Shown May Occur This meeting will be conducted by teleconference or video conference. Members of the public may join the meeting remotely or in-person. To attend the meeting via computer: Please click the link below to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87210679425?pwd=aD4lr aHHEcK2sN7srB98SS5ij0Hy7S.1 Webinar/Meeting ID: 872 1067 9425 Passcode: 375712 Or by Phone: 1 312 626 6799 Dial:1-312-626-6799 Members - If you are unable to attend, please contact: Broadband Coordinator, Jessica Hatch @ 746-2289, or email jhatch@co.door.wi.us We need a quorum to conduct business. Thank you. Notice of Public Meeting Thursday, January 8, 2026 10:00 a.m. BROADBAND COMMITTEE Door County Government Center Peninsula Room (C121), 1st floor 421 Nebraska Street, Sturgeon Bay, WI MINUTES 1. Call Meeting to Order. Chairman Hugh Zettel called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. 2. Establish a Quorum ~ Roll Call Members Present: Hugh Zettel, Jeff Miller, Michelle Lawrie, Jenny Fitzgerald, Nate Bill, and James Champion. Dominic Frandrup and Kurt Kiefer were excused. Others Present: Broadband Coordinator Jessica Hatch, County Administrator Ken Pabich. 3. Adopt Agenda / Properly Notice Motion by Bell, seconded by Miller, to adopt the agenda. Motion carried. 4. Correspondence: None. 5. Public Comment: None. 6. Approve Minutes of the October 9, 2025 Broadband Committee meeting Motion by Miller, seconded by Lawrie, to approve the minutes of the October 9, 2025 Broadband Committee meeting. Motion carried. Bell abstained. 7. New Business (Review / Action) A. Introductions of new committee members. All members present introduced themselves. B. Review of Committee Charter & Reference Materials There was a quick overview of the Broadband Advisory Committee Charter Phase II, and the Reference Materials available on the Door County FiberNet webpage. Miller said it’s important to emphasize that Jessica Hatch is the person for municipalities to call with on-going questions. Hatch noted that some municipalities have kept their committees in place; others have not. She is still in contact with municipalities, offering outreach. The last mile is people knowing how to use the infrastructure. Zettel highlighted three points: • FiberNet site: sharing best practices, tools, etc. The County is a facilitator between municipalities. • Safety Issues • Programs for discounted laptops and devices. Miller stressed the need for virus protection, not to get hacked. Hatch said sessions will include cybersecurity. C. Broadband Adoption – Discussion The handout was in the agenda packet and included the following sections: • Definition of Broadband Adoption • Digital Inclusion Ecosystem • Why Broadband Adoption Matters • Barriers to Broadband Adoption o Affordability o Digital Literacy o Device Access o Trust & Perceived Value • Digital Skill Building & Local Efforts Discussion held. Digital skill building and local efforts. People want a local contact. Help people understand the benefit and need. Steer people to the FiberNet website. D. DRAFT Digital Skills & Broadband Adoption Survey – Discussion The draft was included in the agenda packet. This survey is in partnership with United Way. It will help with decision making and planning purposes. Committee members should send feedback and notes to Hatch. E. Determine 2026 meeting dates and time The plan is to hold quarterly meetings. Zettel asked Hatch to send out a doodle to get a consensus on the best date. 8. Matters to be Placed on a Future Agenda or Referred to a Committee, Official, or Employee Zettel noted that UW-Extension featured the Door County Broadband Committee as a best practice example in their recent publication. 9. Sustainability Matters to be Considered: None. 10. Legislative Matters to be Considered: None. 11. Next Meeting Date: April 2026: Date to be determined. 12. Adjourn: Adjourn. Motion by Lawrie, seconded by Champion, to adjourn. Motion carried. Time: 11:20 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Lori Holtz, Administrative Assistant. Blog Who Carries the Cost of Digital Transformation? MARCH 17, 2026 | WRITTEN BY:Kami Griffiths | ADVOCACY, RESEARCH Digital transformation is often framed as progress: faster systems, streamlined workflows, online access,automation, efficiency. In the private sector, that story largely holds. Companies invest in new technology toimprove customer experience and reduce operational costs. But in the social sector, there’s a question we rarelyask: Who actually carries the cost of digital transformation? Because it isn’t only the organization implementingthe software, and it certainly isn’t evenly distributed. Many industries assume customers are already online and have devices, reliable internet, email addresses, anddaily experience navigating digital tools. When businesses introduce digital transformation, they are optimizingfor a digitally connected customer base.  Social service agencies operate in a different reality, serving people who need to navigate housing instability,economic insecurity, aging, disability, language barriers, and rural isolation. Digital access in these communitiesis uneven at best and nonexistent at worst. Clients may share a single smartphone across a household, rely onprepaid data plans, lack broadband entirely, struggle with digital literacy, or be wary of online systems.  Yet government agencies, healthcare systems, workforce programs, and public benefits platforms are rapidlymoving online. Applications are digital, appointments are virtual, and documents must be uploaded. Whensystems modernize, someone has to absorb the gap between digital systems and digital reality, and that“someone” is often a community-based organization. When digital systems go live, the cost doesn’t disappear; it shifts. A housing application that once requiredpaper forms now requires an email address, scanned documents, stable internet, password management, andbasic troubleshooting skills. If an applicant doesn’t have those things, the burden doesn’t fall back on the agencythat built the platform; it falls on frontline social service workers. Case managers become tech support,navigators become digital literacy instructors, and program staff spend precious appointment time resettingpasswords and explaining upload buttons. This labor is rarely budgeted or acknowledged, yet it is constant. Digital transformation in the social sector requires two parallel efforts:  1. Internal modernization: implementing new case management software, training staff, migrating data,meeting cybersecurity and data protection requirements, and adjusting reporting systems. 2. External digital support: helping clients access devices, enrolling them in internet programs, teaching basicdigital skills, troubleshooting virtual appointments, and bridging language or accessibility gaps.  In the private sector, these efforts are typically separate industries; in the social sector, they are happeningsimultaneously, often with the same limited staff. Follow us on Social Me      digitalLIFT Stories digitalLIFT DigestLearner SpotlightsVolunteer SpotlightsPartner SpotlightsFunder SpotlightsStaff Spotlights Recent Posts To search type and hi Who Carries the Cost of DiTransformation? 10 Tech Tools Before 10am Funder Spotlight: 35 MileFoundation International Women’s DayLiteracy, Representation, aPower of Story Celebrating Our ChampionCongratulations to Kami Gand Fellow Winners of the Charles Benton Digital EquChampions Awards 〈 TRAININGS & CURRICULUM NEWS & EVENTSABOUT ENROLL PARTNER WITH US DONAT 3/25/26, 1:10 PM Who Carries the Cost of Digital Transformation? - digitalLIFT https://digitallift.org/who-carries-the-cost-of-digital-transformation/ 1/3 Digital transformation is often justified as a path to efficiency, but efficiency depends on who or what you aremeasuring. When public agencies reduce in-person services and shift to digital-only, the system may lookstreamlined on paper. But if community-based organizations now spend additional hours helping clientsnavigate those systems, the workload hasn’t been eliminated — it has been redistributed, usually downward, toorganizations with the fewest resources. When essential services become primarily digital, access becomes an unwritten eligibility requirement. Youmust be connected, digitally literate, and able to navigate online systems. For many Americans, those are notgivens. Without intentional investment in digital inclusion, digital transformation risks widening the veryinequities the social sector exists to address. Social service agencies become the shock absorbers of thistransition, cushioning the impact of digital modernization on communities still building connectivity. Digital transformation in the social sector is not just about software licenses. It requires investment in frontlinestaff digital fluency, dedicated digital navigator roles, funding for devices and connectivity, realisticimplementation timelines, and infrastructure investments in underconnected communities. Digital inclusion isnot a side initiative; it is core operational infrastructure. Until we treat it that way, the cost of digitaltransformation will continue to be quietly carried by those least resourced to bear it: frontline staff and thecommunities they serve. Digital transformation is here to stay. The real question is not whether we modernize; it’s whether weacknowledge who is paying the price, and whether we are willing to invest accordingly. Related Posts digitalLIFT believesthat access to theInternet is a humanright and thatthose without theskills to use acomputer are atrisk of social andeconomicdisadvantage. Contact Us San Francisco Office1390 Market Street, Suite 200San Francisco, CA 94102 General Questionsinquiries@digitalLIFT.org855-983-0318 Partner With Us Presspress@digitalLIFT.org Jobs & Volunteer OpportunitiesFrequently Asked Questions Site Map 〈 TRAININGS & CURRICULUM NEWS & EVENTSABOUT ENROLL PARTNER WITH US DONAT 3/25/26, 1:10 PM Who Carries the Cost of Digital Transformation? - digitalLIFT https://digitallift.org/who-carries-the-cost-of-digital-transformation/ 2/3 Search Home/Consumer Glossary of Terms Used for Consumer Broadband Labels Quick Links Broadband Consumer Labels Blank Sample Label Fixed Broadband Sample Label Mobile Broadband Sample Label Español Blank Sample LabelConsumer Broadband Labels are designed to provide clear, easy-to-understand, and accurate information about the cost and performance of internet services. Broadband is a term commonly used to refer to high- speed internet service. Broadband Internet service providers (ISPs or providers) that offer fixed, or home, internet services, and/or mobile service plans are required to have a label for each service plan they offer. The standardization of these labels allows consumers to compare different internet service plans side-by-side, making it easier to select the plan that best meets their needs. Fixed broadband services are provided to your home, or a single location. These include cable, fiber optic, DSL, An official website of the United States government Here’s how you know 3/25/26, 1:12 PM Glossary of Terms Used for Consumer Broadband Labels | Federal Communications Commission https://www.fcc.gov/broadbandlabels-glossary 1/6 (click to enlarge image) and fixed wireless internet services. Download a PDF sample fixed broadband disclosure label. Mobile broadband services are device-based and available throughout the service provider's cellular coverage area. They include 3G, 4G, and 5G services offered by mobile, or cellular, providers. Download a PDF sample mobile broadband disclosure label.  The labels include the following information: Monthly Price is the cost of the plan before additional charges and monthly fees such as modem rentals and taxes are added. Some providers may offer an all- inclusive price that represents the total cost inclusive of all taxes and fees. Introductory Rate is a limited time price that providers may offer to customers. If the monthly price is an introductory rate, the label will include either the number of months the rate is in effect or the date on which the introductory period will end, as well as what the monthly price will be once the introductory rate expires. For example, the introductory rate may be $50 per month for 24 months and then after 24 months the price increases to $60 per month. Length of Contract only applies to plans that require a contract. For plans that do require a contract the label will show the term, or number of months, the contract lasts. It will also include a link to the terms of the contract. Contracts often include early termination fees for canceling before the final month of the contract. If the service plan includes an early termination fee it will be listed in the additional charges and terms section of the label. Note that most plans, including month-to-month plans, are likely to have terms that require the customer's agreement. Additional Charges and Terms Provider Monthly Fees are fees that a service provider adds to a customer's bill every month such as a modem rental, online security services, wiring or device insurance, or other equipment related fees. Each fee must be listed out and described on the label. 3/25/26, 1:12 PM Glossary of Terms Used for Consumer Broadband Labels | Federal Communications Commission https://www.fcc.gov/broadbandlabels-glossary 2/6 Some providers may include all monthly fees and government taxes in their base monthly price. If a provider does include all taxes and fees in their monthly price, they will not be broken out in this section of the label. "Pass Through" Fees are fees related to government programs that providers may choose to "pass through" to consumers, such as fees related to universal service or regulatory fees. Service providers opting to pass through such fees must itemize the fees they add to base monthly prices and include them in this section. One-Time Fees such as a "connection" or an "installation" fee, or the purchase of a modem or other equipment will be listed on the label. These are fees that are assessed once, often when service is installed or begins. Each one-time fee will be listed along with a description of the fee. Early Termination Fee is a fee a provider will charge subscribers who end service before their contract expires. Government Taxes will vary by state and local jurisdiction. Some providers may include these in their monthly price or indicate that they vary by jurisdiction. Other providers will list out applicable taxes line by line. Learn more about the typical charges that may be included on a customer's bill.  Discounts & Bundles Discounts Providers may offer certain discounts, for example, for subscribing to multiple lines, purchasing or financing a phone or other device, enrolling in electronic billing, benefits for Military Service or affiliations with certain membership organizations. Providers may provide a link to a separate webpage explaining such discounts in the "Discounts and Bundles" section of the label. Bundles Providers may offer packages or bundles of services, such as combining internet with paid TV. Packages or bundles may have a higher overall monthly cost than the standalone internet service and may include benefits such as free or reduced cost devices, access to streaming platforms, or cloud services. Providers must display a label for their standalone broadband services, but may provide further information on bundled services via a link the "Bundles and Discounts" section of the label. The broadband disclosure labels originally required a section highlighting the Affordable Connectivity Program and required the provider to indicate if they participated in the program. Due to a lack of additional funding from Congress, April 2024 is the last fully funded month of the ACP benefit. As a result this section is no longer required on the labels. Visit https://www.fcc.gov/document/wcb-announces-final-month-affordable- connectivity-program-acp to learn more. Speeds Provided with Plan 3/25/26, 1:12 PM Glossary of Terms Used for Consumer Broadband Labels | Federal Communications Commission https://www.fcc.gov/broadbandlabels-glossary 3/6 Broadband speed is typically measured in megabits per second, or Mbps; generally, the higher the speed, the faster a user can download and upload files and stream videos or other content. Some of the fastest services may be measured as Gigabits per second, or Gbps. Bits are the smallest unit of data and the building blocks in the online universe. A byte is made up of eight related bits that might represent a letter or other character. A kilobit is 1,000 bits, a megabit is 1 million bits, and a gigabit is 1,000 megabits. The FCC requires that ISPs list typical download and upload speeds for fixed and mobile broadband services on their labels. They are not always the same as the advertised speed and may not be the speed a customer sees when they run a speed test on their phone or other device. Once the service is connected to a modem and any routers set up in the home, the number of connected devices in the home may impact the speed any one device receives. Typical Download Speed is the speed that data or bits arrive to a device, often measured in Mbps. Higher numbers represent faster speeds. Lower download speeds may impact the quality of video, gaming services, and other applications. Typical Upload Speed refers to the speed that data can be sent from a device to other devices, often measured in Mbps. Higher numbers represent faster speeds. Upload speed may affect applications that transmit large amounts of information, or bits, such as photo uploads and video conferencing. Lower upload speeds may make it difficult for multiple people in a household to work remotely or attend online classes at the same time. Typical Latency measures the amount of time it takes for data to travel from one endpoint to another across the internet, in milliseconds. This measurement is often referred to as "lag". Lower latency is an indicator of a higher quality connection, but a small amount of latency associated with the distance travelled is unavoidable. Latency can cause noticeable delays with streaming video, live audio, and online video games. Similar to upload and download speeds the latency shown on the label is what a user should typically expect from the service. High levels of latency can make it difficult to participate in real time communication services like a telehealth visit or a conversation utilizing American Sign Language (ASL). Data Included with Monthly Price indicates the amount of data the plan provides before extra fees are charged or performance is decreased. This is also sometimes called a data cap and is typically represented in gigabits (GB) or terabytes (TB). If the plan includes a data usage limit, the provider must disclose on the label any charges or reductions in service for any data used in excess of the amount included in the plan. This is typically displayed as a cost per gigabit. For example, "$5/GB". The label may also include a link to the provider's website with more details about their data usage limits and any costs for additional data. Network Management is how an internet service provider manages the data that moves across their networks. A provider must link to its network management policy in the label. The policy must include information about blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization. 3/25/26, 1:12 PM Glossary of Terms Used for Consumer Broadband Labels | Federal Communications Commission https://www.fcc.gov/broadbandlabels-glossary 4/6 Blocking – intentionally stopping certain content from crossing its network or stopping content from being downloaded. Throttling – intentionally slowing network speeds for certain content or subscription levels. Paid Prioritization – providing faster download and upload speeds for certain content whether the prioritization is linked to a higher-cost subscription or a deal with content providers. Privacy Policy: The internet company must include a link to its privacy policy and must comply with FCC privacy regulations for cable and phone records. (Consumer Guide: Protecting Your Privacy – Phone and Cable Records) A customer support phone number and website must also be included on the label. Bureau/Office: Consumer and Governmental Affairs Tags: Broadband Consumer Issues-Broadband, Internet & IP-Consumers Updated: Monday, March 11, 2024 Federal Communications Commission 45 L Street NE Washington, DC 20554 Phone: 1-888-225-5322 ASL Video Call: 1-844-432-2275 Fax: 1-866-418-0232 Contact Us 3/25/26, 1:12 PM Glossary of Terms Used for Consumer Broadband Labels | Federal Communications Commission https://www.fcc.gov/broadbandlabels-glossary 5/6 Americans with Disabilities Act Title II Web and Mobile Application Accessibility Rule In April 2024, the Department of Justice (or “Department”) published a rule that sets technical requirements for state and local governments to follow to make sure that their websites and mobile apps are accessible to people with disabilities. State and local governments provide many of their services, programs, and activities through websites and mobile apps. When these websites and mobile apps are not accessible, they can create barriers for people with disabilities. • For example, individuals who are blind may use a screen reader to deliver visual information on a website or mobile app as speech. A state or local government might post an image on its website that provides information to the public. If the website does not include text describing the image (sometimes called “alternative text” or “alt text”), individuals who are blind and who use screen readers may have no way of knowing what is in the image because a screen reader cannot “read” an image. Websites and mobile apps that are not accessible can make it difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to access government services, like ordering mail-in ballots or getting tax information, that are quickly and easily available to other members of the public online. Sometimes, inaccessible websites and mobile apps can keep people with disabilities from joining or fully participating in civic or other community events like town meetings or programs at their child’s school. This rule will help make sure people with disabilities have access to state and local governments’ services, programs, and activities available on websites and mobile apps. This rule will also provide state and local governments with more clarity about what they have to do to comply with the ADA. The compliance date for us to have the FiberNet website meet this rule is April 26, 2027. I will be working with the designated support staff and IT to ensure we meet this compliance. There may be changes to the website to meet compliance that include materials or resources being removed if they cannot meet compliance.