Bug Tussel, Broken Timelines, and a $15 Million Question: Pr

Bug Tussel, Broken Timelines, and a $15 Million Question: Price County’s Broadband Deal on the Brink

Two years after signing a $15 million bond agreement with Bug Tussel Wireless, Price County has two towers and a board that’s reconsidering the deal. Meanwhile, the county’s emergency radio system will be unsupported within two years.Read more Price County stories from across the web.

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When Price County entered a multi-county broadband infrastructure agreement with Bug Tussel Wireless in 2024, the pitch was straightforward: Bug Tussel would build 87 miles of fiber optic line and multiple communication towers across the county, funded through a $15 million bond agreement arranged through Fond du Lac County. The towers would hold county emergency communications equipment. The county would pay no rental fees or construction costs. If the project failed, the towers and equipment would serve as collateral.

Eighteen months was the expected timeline for completion.

It has been more than two years

It has been more than two years. The results so far: two towers built, a third pending, and a county board that voted in February 2026 to reconsider the entire deal.

What Was Promised

The Bug Tussel agreement covered:
– 87 miles of fiber optic line across Price County
– Multiple cell phone and communication towers
– County emergency communications equipment mounted on the towers
– No rental fees or construction costs to the county
– Towers and equipment as collateral if the project failed

The benefit agreement structure meant that Bug Tussel would pursue financing through bonds issued by Fond du Lac County on behalf of the multi-county consortium. The county would review and approve all draw requests before funds were released.

What Has Been Delivered

As of May 2026, according to the Price County Review and Bug Tussel’s own updates:

Two towers are constructed.One in the Georgetown area and one in Catawba. The Catawba tower still needs wireless equipment installed.

A third tower is underwayon Peterson Road in Fifield. The lease is completed but civil work has not started.

Additional sites in selection or leasing phasesinclude Musser Lake (Ogema), Squaw Lake (Catawba area), Snowshoe Road (Catawba), and Shoeshoe/Snoshoe Lake (eastern Fifield).

87 miles of fiber is being reconsidered.The east-west fiber line may be dropped entirely, with that portion left to competitive providers who received Federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program funds.

Only approximately $7,000 has been drawnfrom the bond fund, according to County Administrator Nick Trimner at the April 28 board meeting. Most recent draws were for engineering costs. The remaining funds sit in a bank account where neither Bug Tussel nor the county can access them without approved draw requests.

In other words: two years in, most of the $15 million remains undeployed, most of the towers are unbuilt, and the fiber scope is shrinking.

What Went Wrong

Bug Tussel’s own news posts attribute the delays to federal regulations. A May 28, 2025 post confirmed the project was delayed because federal regulations prohibited tree clearing until late fall and required an archaeological study. Construction was expected to begin around November 2025.

These are real regulatory barriers. Environmental and archaeological reviews are standard requirements for federal broadband projects, and they do take time. But the question the county board is asking is whether Bug Tussel should have anticipated these delays and accounted for them in the original timeline, rather than presenting an 18-month completion estimate that was never realistic.

The Emergency Communications Crisis

Here is where the Bug Tussel delays become more than a broadband inconvenience. Price County’s current emergency communications system is expected to reach end-of-life by 2028. The manufacturer is ending support for the equipment the county relies on for sheriff, fire, and EMS radio communications.

Supervisor Larry Palecek put it plainly at the April 28 board meeting: “We were led to believe that within a year, there would be some action on it, and that was two years ago. And now we’re really in a bad spot because we don’t know if we should continue with Bug Tussel or if we should go into long-term borrowing and upgrade our system for ourselves.”

Supervisor Paula Houdek was even more direct, addressing the Bug Tussel representative: “If you cannot promise us, if you cannot be honest and transparent with everyone, then why don’t you just get the heck out and move on and let us do what we need to do?”

The board also learned that Bug Tussel

The board also learned that Bug Tussel has undergone reorganization. The former CEO has been replaced, and Mitch Olson, the original county representative, is no longer with the company. Jesse Lane, VP of Strategic Development, represented Bug Tussel at the April 28 meeting but could not commit to a specific timeline.

This is not a hypothetical risk. If the emergency radio system becomes unsupported before replacement towers are built, the county faces a situation where sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, and EMS crews cannot reliably communicate in parts of the county. In a county where response times already run 30 to 45 minutes in rural areas, losing radio communications is a safety emergency.

The Board Reconsideration

On February 17, 2026, the Price County Board of Supervisors voted to reconsider the Bug Tussel project. County Administrator Lonnie Nauman noted that the project was expected to be complete within 18 months of bond approval but has been ongoing for more than two years.

The board and executive committee have agreed to keep the Bug Tussel item on meeting agendas for ongoing updates and potential action.

What Jason Hastings Said

In his resignation letter, former District 5 Supervisor Jason Hastings listed “Bug Tussel tower projects that don’t come to fruition” among the reasons he was leaving. His characterization was blunt, but the factual record shows he had a point. The 18-month timeline was not met, and two years later, the majority of the project remains incomplete.

The Multi-County Context

Price County is not alone in this arrangement. County Administrator Lonnie Nauman organized a group of eight counties working with Bug Tussel on various projects, which meets regularly. If other counties in the consortium are experiencing similar delays, the systemic risk is larger than Price County alone.

Questions That Need Answers

1. What specific milestones has Bug Tussel missed, and what penalties, if any, exist in the contract for missed deadlines?
2. How much county money is at risk if the project fails entirely? The $15 million in bonds is the ceiling, but what is the county’s actual exposure?
3. What is the realistic timeline for completing all tower sites and the remaining fiber?
4. What are the costs and timeline for the county to independently replace its emergency radio system? This is the fallback plan, and the county needs to know what it costs.
5. What other counties in the multi-county deal are experiencing similar delays, and what are they doing about it?
6. Was the 18-month timeline ever realistic given the federal regulatory requirements for environmental and archaeological review?

The Stakes

The broadband gap in Price County is real. Residents without reliable internet access face disadvantages in education, healthcare, employment, and basic communication. The emergency communications gap is even more urgent.

But a deal that promised to solve both problems and has delivered neither after two years is not a solution. It is a risk. The county board’s decision to reconsider the deal is appropriate. The harder decision is what comes next: continue with Bug Tussel and accept further delays, or pursue independent financing for a communications system that the county controls and can hold accountable.

The answer depends on whether Bug Tussel can deliver before the current radio system becomes obsolete. Right now, that is a race the county is losing.

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*This article is part of an ongoing investigative series by Northwoods Explorer covering Price County governance, transparency, and accountability. Related coverage:The Hastings Resignation,Starlink Proposal Analysis,U.T.A.V. Proposal Analysis.*

Sources: Price County Review (Mar 2, 2026; May 3, 2026), Bug Tussel Wireless website and news posts, Price County Board of Supervisors meeting minutes (Feb 17, 2026), Jason Hastings resignation letter (public document).

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Last updated: May 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the state of broadband internet in Price County?

As of 2026, broadband availability in Price County varies dramatically by location. Phillips and population centers have decent options, but many rural areas still lack reliable high-speed internet, relying on satellite or fixed wireless with limited speeds and reliability.

How much public money has been invested in Price County broadband?

Price County has received significant state and federal broadband expansion funding through programs including ARPA funds, USDA ReConnect grants, and state broadband expansion grants totaling millions of dollars. However, deployment timelines have faced delays and some projects have encountered contractor issues.

What are the main barriers to broadband expansion in Price County?

Key barriers include the county’s low population density (roughly 10 people per square mile), long distances between properties, rocky terrain that makes trenching expensive, and the cost-benefit challenge for providers serving few customers per mile of infrastructure.

Are there broadband expansion plans for Price County?

Yes, multiple projects are underway or planned as of 2026 with state and federal funding supporting fiber and fixed wireless expansion. However, project timelines have been subject to delays, and complete high-speed coverage remains years away for many rural parts of the county.

Bug Tussel Broadband Deal: Current Status

As of June 2026, the Price County Board voted in February 2026 to reconsider the entire Bug Tussel agreement. Two towers have been constructed (Georgetown and Catawba), with a third underway in Fifield. The status of the 87-mile fiber optic line remains uncertain, with the east-west portion potentially dropped in favor of competitive providers who received federal broadband grants for the area.

Tower Construction Progress

Site	Status	Location
Georgetown	Constructed	Georgetown area, Price County
Catawba	Constructed (wireless equipment pending)	Catawba, WI
Fifield (Peterson Rd)	Lease complete, civil work not started	Peterson Road, Fifield
Musser Lake	Site selection phase	Ogema area
Squaw Lake	Leasing phase	Catawba area
Snowshoe Road	Leasing phase	Catawba

Sources: Price County Review, Bug Tussel Wireless public updates to Price County Board, Price County February 2026 board meeting minutes.