CommunityInternet, an initiative of the Ann Arbor-based Broadband Institute Foundation, is expanding community-owned broadband in Ann Arbor through a partnership with fiber internet provider 123Net and the Veridian at County Farm development.
Construction has started in Bridgewater and Manchester Townships, and homes around Pleasant Lake will be brought online over the coming weeks.
In September 2021, the county board of commissioners approved a funds proposal to get every home in the county connected to high-speed broadband internet as part of the county's Washtenaw Rescue Plan.
Over 8,000 county residents still have no internet connectivity, but the county has allocated over $15 million in federal and local funds to change that.
Thanks to a $2.4 million federal grant to Ann Arbor SPARK, 20 miles of underground fiber optic cable will be built between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti's downtowns.
The Washtenaw County Rescue Plan is designed to help the community recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and create a more equitable future, leveraging federal and other funding for a total investment of approximately $100 million.
A group called Washtenaw Solidarity with Farmworkers has been steadily working on amplifying the voices of migrant workers across the county and the state.
Many homeless and poor people have lost their ability to communicate, make money, and get online during the pandemic. A new effort by Groundcover News and the Washtenaw County Poor People's Campaign seeks to help.
The Washtenaw County Broadband Task Force hopes to use the data gathered to show eligibility for USDA grants to help provide broadband in rural areas of the county.
Ann Arbor-based Merit Network is a partner in the new initiative, which seeks to study broadband internet access issues for Michigan K-12 students and then identify funding to address broadband gaps.
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