There are a lot of impressive numbers associated with recent federal grants to get broadband internet service to northern Michigan. The grant is $69.6 million; the associated jobs are 946; the counties benefiting are 20; and the miles of fiber-optic cable to be laid are 1,275.
Among those counties are several in Northwest Michigan; Kalkaska, Lake and Missaukee counties all will benefit from increased access to the REACH Michigan Middle Mile project, which is bit by bit adding fiber optic network all through Michigan. This same round of grant funding also will affect much of northeastern lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.
The network will be built by
Merit Network Inc. and funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Most of the affected counties are in U.S. Representative Bart Stupak's First Congressional District, and he had this to say about the jobs created by the grant:
"This project is an excellent example of the tremendous job creation impact that can be realized when we invest in expanding broadband access to under-served rural areas," Stupak says.
The grant will connect northern Michigan with fiber-optic spurs to Green Bay and Duluth. Project planners estimate it will make broadband access available to 733,000 households and 49,000 businesses. Merit also received a similar grant earlier this year to expand broadband service in southern and Mid Michigan.
Writer: Sam EgglestonSource: Bart Stupak, U.S. Representative
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