Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Broadband Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County officials report progress on MIHI broadband applications and Lake Michigan middle‑mile project
Summary
Berrien County representatives said the MIHI NTIA application included most of the county’s previously identified unserved locations and that Peninsula Fiber’s Lake Michigan crossing (middle mile) project will start local construction work in 2026 with underwater work planned for 2027.
Commissioners were briefed on broadband developments, including Michigan’s MIHI submission to the NTIA and a middle‑mile project led by Peninsula Fiber. A county representative said MIHI’s final NTIA proposal appears to include the majority of roughly 1,600 previously identified unserved locations in the county, though final NTIA awards were still pending.
"We have about 2,400 locations," the commissioner reported when summarizing the county’s mapping work and said BCbit through DCS Technologies had identified between 1,600 and 1,800 locations that still needed service; the majority of those appear to have been included in the MIHI proposal to NTIA. The speaker cautioned he would withhold celebration until NTIA confirms awards.
Peninsula Fiber provided an update on the Lake Michigan undersea middle‑mile crossing that received NTIA funding. Officials said construction for the county segment is expected to begin in 2026, with the underwater portion of construction slated for 2027; environmental work including shoreline soil sampling has been underway for the last two years.
Commissioners said the project could improve redundancy and connectivity for county public‑safety and other anchor institutions, and staff noted construction timelines and environmental review are ongoing.
