$59 million awarded to improve internet access in rural Michigan communities

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is awarding $59 million to expand high-speed internet access to rural Michiganders through four major projects across the state, including two in the Upper Peninsula.  The Upper Peninsula Telephone Company will receive a $34,532,301 grant to install a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 1,625 people, 69 farms, 40 businesses, and two educational facilities with the higher speeds in Dickinson, Luce, Mackinac, Marquette, Menominee, and Ontonagon counties. The company will make high-speed internet affordable by participating in the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity (ACP) and the Lifeline programs. In addition, the Baraga Telephone Company will receive a $3,302,981 loan to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 362 people, four farms, and two businesses to high-speed internet in Houghton County. The funds were made possible by the USDA’s Rural Development Broadband ReConnect Program.