The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded a $10.5 million broadband infrastructure program grant to Merit Network and Michigan State University (MSU) to connect the state’s middle mile network.
Merit Network and MSU are part of a program called Michigan Open Optical Network — Leveraging Innovation to Get High-Speed Technology (MOON-Light). The public-private partnership is working with non-profits and other organizations to create an open-access network that will be available to multiple broadband providers and reduce the cost of broadband in Michigan.
Besides Merit and MSU, the group has received letters of intent from several ISPs and other organizations that plan to participate in the effort, including Highline, Barger Creek and Northern Michigan University.
MOON-Light’s goal is to close infrastructure gaps by increasing the middle-mile fiber optic infrastructure in Michigan, allow local ISPs to connect to the middle mile network and deliver high-speed broadband to homes and businesses in Michigan’s underserved/unserved areas. It’s estimated that about 380,000 Michigan residents lack any broadband connectivity.
The MOON-Light program will deploy equipment on a statewide scale and doesn’t require any additional middle-mile fiber construction. The project is expected to take 12 months to complete. The NTIA funding is part of the group’s Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP), which was a precursor to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was signed into law by President Biden in November 2021.
Statewide networks are proliferating
Michigan isn’t the only state building a statewide broadband network. Two broadband cooperatives in Indiana recently combined forces to deliver fiber connectivity to members of their state. Hoosier Net and Accord Telecommunications Collaborative are combining their assets to deliver broadband throughout rural Indiana.
In addition, 13 electric cooperatives in Arkansas have formed a wholesale fiber provider called Diamond State Networks with the goal of delivering statewide broadband access. Like MOON-Light, Diamond State is focused on supplying ISPs and wireless providers with access to middle mile fiber transport routes. In addition, Diamond State is working to secure IIJA to help with its expansion plans.