A Leader for Allegan County's Broadband Journey

Allegan County’s journey to universal connectivity has overcome a number of obstacles: accurately determining the extent of connectivity gaps, exploring potential strategic solutions, and tackling costs in a manner palatable to the community. Advancing this initiative required a leader with deep industry knowledge and a strong connection to the community. A leader who would refuse to take no for an answer and demand that incumbent internet service providers work with her, rather than against her. Jill Dunham, the Broadband Project Manager for Allegan County, has been instrumental in the county’s journey. Currently, only 472 of over 44,000 households remain without a funded plan for a high-speed internet connection, and Jill continues to drive the efforts to connect these remaining homes, too. 

[Dr. Pierrette Renee Dagg, Ph.D is a Benton Institute Digital Opportunity Fund Fellow, the Director of Technology Impact Research at Merit Network. The aim of her work is to bridge the gap between academic scholarship and practical application to advance issues of technology understanding and information equity.]