Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program

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The Infrastructure for Michigan's Peninsulas and Critical Crossings (IMPACC) includes two routes crossing Michigan's lakes, and unserved counties and towns to bring middle mile infrastructure into rural counties serving over 35,000 homes in need of broadband internet connectivity. Placing approximately 535 route miles of new middle mile fiber connecting the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the lower with a redundant path to create connectivity options for western Michigan to peering points in Chicago. Improving connectivity and redundancy for unserved and underserved areas of the UP and western Michigan.

Route #1: The undersea fiber connection across Lake Michigan to Chicago from Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, MI., creates a shorter, redundant, and more reliable middle mile route to Chicago. Extending through un/underserved areas of southwest rural Michigan to an Inter-Exchange Carrier (IXC) facility in Byron Center, MI.

Route #2 begins in Gulliver in the Upper Peninsula, travels undersea and makes landfall at Beaver Island then continues undersea to Charlevoix, MI. After landfall in Charlevoix, the route continues south and east through sections of unserved towns to reach an IXC point in Gaylord.

Activities to be performed:

• The project will place 535 route miles of new middle mile fiber that will integrate into existing networks to provide middle mile access and ultimately serve end users throughout the state of Michigan.
• The project will use fiber to build new middle mile network through unserved and underserved communities with a commitment to open access and carrier neutral non-discriminatory interconnect.

The period of performance is expected to be 5 years.