Ottawa County commits up to $7.5 million for fiber internet network

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Ottawa County (MI) will extend broadband internet service to unserved and underserved areas of the county through a $27 million public-private partnership with a southeast Michigan firm, Southfield-based 123Net. The company will invest $3.5 million as part of a proposed $27 million project to extend 383 miles of fiber-optic lines across the county that initially would pass by nearly 10,000 addresses and could expand in the future. Ottawa County would match 123Net’s capital with $7.5 million in local funding through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and is seeking a $16 million grant from a $250 million fund the state has available to support broadband projects. A survey of county residents that was part of the project’s planning process found that 10.5 percent of Ottawa County households lack access to high-speed internet service. More than a quarter of the households have broadband access with speeds slower than the Federal Communications Commission’s minimum broadband threshold.


Ottawa County commits up to $7.5 million for fiber internet network Ottawa County explores $27M public-private partnership to deploy broadband countywide