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Finance committee recommends Norvado for county BEAD endorsement
Summary
After presentations from Norvado and Bertram Communications, the finance committee voted to recommend that the county endorse Norvado’s BEAD (BEED/BEAD) broadband application and send the recommendation to the county board.
The Ashland County Finance Committee recommended that the county endorse Norvado’s application for federal BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment) funding and will forward that recommendation to the county board for final action on Feb. 18.
Two companies pitched projects to cover BEAD‑eligible locations in Ashland County: Norvado (doing business as Chequamegon Communications Cooperative) and Bertram Communications. After hearing both presentations, the committee voted to recommend Norvado’s application, citing Norvado’s local operations and existing footprint in Ashland County.
Norvado’s presenter said the company would serve the shaded BEAD‑eligible areas without charging customers construction fees under that grant: “If we are awarded this grant through the BEED program, we will serve everybody in that shaded area without aid to construction,” the presenter said. Norvado said its existing network already provides one‑gigabit service to many communities in the region and that the proposed BEAD areas are contiguous to current facilities.
Bertram Communications also presented technical and pricing details, telling the committee the BEAD‑eligible households would not be charged a drop or installation fee under the grant and listing residential price tiers ($47.99 for 250/250 Mbps, $69.99 for 500/500 Mbps, $99.99 for 1 Gbps). “If they’re a BEAD eligible BSL, that’s included in the BEAD funding. We don’t charge them anything, and there is not an installation or activation fee,” Bertram’s presenter said.
The committee discussed local serviceability, competition, contractor use and the importance of an endorsement for the competitive grant scoring. The Public Service Commission representative explained endorsements add points to BEAD applications; committee members noted endorsements can be made for the whole county or for specific project units and that the county may endorse more than one applicant.
On a roll call the committee recorded the motion to recommend Norvado’s BEAD application and will place the recommendation on the Ashland County Board agenda for Feb. 18, when both companies have been invited to present to the full board.
