Allegan County, 123NET receive $65 million grant for high-speed internet

ALLEGAN — A sizeable grant will help Allegan County provide some of the fastest fiber internet in the U.S.

123NET won an initial award of $65 million to construct an open-access, carrier-neutral fiber network for Allegan County, according to a news release. It's pending a 45-day comment and review period.

More: Allegan County signs agreement to expand broadband coverage to 12,000 homes

Dan Irvin, CEO of 123NET, said the company was a recipient of funding from Michigan Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks. ROBIN is described as "a high-speed internet last mile and middle mile infrastructure competitive grant program," according to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.

In total, there's $238 million available for the project from the U.S. Treasury as part of the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund.

“This recognition validates the hard work and dedication that both we and Allegan County have put into this project,” Irvin wrote in a statement. “We look forward to partnering with additional communities throughout Michigan in a combined effort to make this state the best connected on the planet."

Allegan County, utilizing funding through the American Rescue Plan Act, and 123NET are each investing $17.5 million in the project, slated to start construction in mid-August for completion over the next two years.

The Allegan County Board of Commissioners and 123NET established a public-private partnership earlier this year and applied for the grant together, according to the release.

123NET will construct 1,100 miles of high-capacity fiber and provide advanced connectivity access to more than 10,000 unserved and underserved homes across Allegan County.

"Allegan County is leading the way in Michigan to get everyone connected to the internet,” said Jill Dunham, the municipality's broadband project manager. “We are very grateful to be part of one of the top-rated proposals submitted and appreciate the outstanding partnership with 123NET."

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Fiber internet will have speeds up to 10 gigabits per second — 100 times faster than Allegan County’s original specification. The project will establish Allegan County as the best-connected county in Michigan and one of the fastest in the nation, per the release.

"The board of commissioners’ vision has been to bring broadband to approximately 10,000 addresses in Allegan County currently without access to high-speed internet," said Allegan County Administrator Rob Sarro. “Bringing our vision to reality has been a team effort, and this funding is a key step to getting it done.”

— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@sentinel-standard.com. Follow him on Twitter @SalsaEvan.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Allegan County, 123NET receive $65 million grant for high-speed internet