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Van Buren County broadband team weighs options after Mercury Broadband defaults as BEAD funding is paused
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Summary
County staff told commissioners that most of the county now has broadband service but recent defaults by Mercury Broadband removed funding for several hundred locations; a federal pause on BEAD grants leaves the county considering whether to use local ARPA funds or wait.
Van Buren County officials reported progress on a multi-year broadband mapping and buildout effort but said recent contractor defaults and a federal pause on BEAD funding have left roughly 350 locations without a funded plan.
Chris (staff member) told the Board of Commissioners the county originally mapped nearly 51,000 parcels and identified about 41,000 serviceable locations. When federal and philanthropic programs (RDOF, USDA Reconnect and similar awards) were applied, roughly 10,000 homes remained unserved. Since then, private and public awards reduced that gap: MEC and Bloomingdale secured awards that covered most unserved locations and Comcast was assigned about 200 remaining residences where it already had infrastructure, Chris said. That left about 300–400 locations after Mercury Broadband defaulted on some RDOF commitments in November.
Why it matters: the County faces a near-term choice about funding a local build or deferring to the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. County staff said both private proposals and local ARPA funding are available as stopgaps, but the White House Office of Management and Budget ordered a pause and review of BEAD activity, putting an indefinite hold on awards and timelines.
County staff described options the board is weighing. Chris said Bloomingdale and MEC responded to a county RFP to use ARPA funds for the unbuilt Lawrence Township areas. The alternative is to wait for BEAD funding; staff cautioned that the pause, which appeared in an OMB memo, interrupted the BEAD schedule and that OMB asked agencies to submit program details by February 10. Chris recommended the board take no final action until the pause and Mercury Broadband’s organizational changes are clarified.
Commissioners asked whether the county had already allocated funds for the Mercury projects; staff said the Lawrence Township work was funded entirely through the FCC’s RDOF awards and that the county had no direct financial contribution to the Mercury awards. Commissioners pressed staff to pursue answers from Mercury about its commitments in Geneva Township and elsewhere. Chris said he was attempting direct outreach to Mercury’s new executive leadership but had not received definitive responses.
What’s next: staff recommended carrying the item forward to future meetings until the BEAD pause ends or Mercury provides a clear plan. The county’s immediate choices are (a) approve an existing local proposal using ARPA funds to finish Lawrence Township, or (b) defer in hopes BEAD resumes and funds the remaining locations.
County speakers identified in the meeting included Chris (staff member) and Jennifer Gilliam (MEC representative); multiple commissioners discussed next steps but no formal board action on funding for the Lawrence Township build was taken at this meeting.
