Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the National Telecommunications and Information Administration awarded a $61 million grant to Peninsula Fiber Network (PFN) to improve high-speed internet access for unserved and underserved communities across Michigan. This grant is being awarded with funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and will help ensure Michigan residents have access to quality internet no matter where they live.

“From St. Joseph to Houghton, we are working to ensure every Michigander has access to quality, affordable high-speed internet,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “I am proud of Michigan-based Peninsula Fiber Network for securing critical funding to connect more people to high-speed internet. Since I took office, we have expanded access to 23,000 more families and small businesses so students can connect with their teachers, people can access health care services, and companies can grow. We will keep working together to expand access to high-speed internet so everyone can ‘make it’ in Michigan.” 

The $61 million grant is being awarded under the NTIA’s Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program, and the Michigan Department of Transportation had provided a letter of support for the project. The grant will allow PFN to carry out its Infrastructure for Michigan’s Peninsula and Critical Crossings (IMPACC) project. The funding will be used to place 535 miles of new middle-mile fiber through underserved and unserved communities across Michigan. The project aims to construct undersea routes between Charlevoix to Beaver Island to Guilliver in the UP, and Benton Harbor to Chicago as well as overland fiber routes connecting Charlevoix to Grayling, Port Huron to Flint and Benton Harbor to Grand Rapids.

“The MIHI team is thrilled that this crucial grant will address the unique middle mile fiber needs of our two-peninsula state and would significantly aid in the success of the BEAD program to achieve affordable, reliable high-speed internet for all Michiganders," said Eric Frederick, Chief Connectivity Officer with the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office. 

The Middle Mile Grant Program provides up to $1 billion in funding allotted by IIJA for constructing, improving and acquiring middle-mile infrastructure. The purpose of the grant program is to expand and extend middle-mile infrastructure to reduce the cost of connecting areas that are unserved or underserved to the internet backbone.