Michigan's $1.8 billion for high-speed internet won't be available until 2024
Up to $1.8 billion in federal grant funds to build high-speed internet will not be available until 2024.
Eric Frederick, Michigan’s very first Chief Connectivity Officer in the MIHI or High-Speed Internet office, explained the process at a Coldwater workshop Tuesday, Jan. 31.
“All of this work here today, we're gathering for the plan,” Frederick said. “That plan is going to be done at the end of August when we'll finalize that work with the federal government to approve.”
The dollars for the grants won’t flow to start work until mid-2024.
Almost three dozen from Branch, Hillsdale and Calhoun counties stressed lack of available high-speed service was a serious issue in today’s connected society.
A Calhoun County official lived hundreds of yards from a high-speed service but the company would not connect.
The secondary issue was the high cost. One woman brought gasps when she said her poor service was almost $200 a month.
“Our goal is universal availability. I want to make sure that every home and business has a connection at their front door," Frederick said.
“And then the other side of that is once it's there, making sure that they can afford it and can connect to any user. And so it's really a two-prong goal,” the chief connectively officer said.
Prior story State seeks input on high-speed internet options in rural areas
Service is available in urban areas. Bob Worley from Coldwater Board of Public Utilities said the 1 gigahertz fiber the city installed for $4.2 million to replace its coax cable system is near the 1,200-customer goal.
“It’s already in the black.”
Kathy LoPresto, Hillsdale’s economic development director, said that city got no response to requests for proposals to build high-speed internet in Hillsdale. The city council rejected plans for the city to build the service.
David Cleveland, partner in the private DMCI provider is using $6.3 million in current 50% federal grants to build high-speed fiber systems in the Reading and Bronson areas as part of its 51-tower wireless service.
The $1.8 billion is from the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment and State Digital Equity Planning Grant Programs, known as the BEAD program. Frederick said there is a grant called ROBIN.
“That is a $250 million grant program for infrastructure expansion. I call that the appetizer.”
Branch County applied for that grant with Frontier Communications. The county selected that company to provide high-speed service throughout the county.
As the participants worked together to provide input to the MIHI staff they urged “You may want to talk about frustrations to get off your chest or just want to share amongst people that may have similar challenges or similar successes that you may have with high-speed internet.”
The Coldwater meeting was one of 40 over 270 days across the state to get information to develop the grant plan.
Frederick, a Coldwater High School graduate, said the MIHI team will return when that plan is ready.
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The new office was funded in the 2020 budget and started up in June last year. It is located in the Prosperity Division of the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.
The state is aware that 16.8% of Michigan households and businesses do not have any internet connections at all. The director said this number puts Michigan in the middle compared to other states.
— Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DReidTDR.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Workshop learns Michigan's $1.8 billion for high-speed internet won't be available until 2024
