![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The 2018 Farm Bill signed by President Donald Trump in December includes $350 million to expand a Department of Agriculture program that is offering hundreds of millions in grants and loans to boost high-speed internet service, or broadband, in rural areas. ![]() Milton Township’s efforts echo larger initiatives to boost broadband to underserved rural areas across southwest Michigan, the state and the U.S. The Federal Communications Commission in 2016 reported that 39 percent of rural Americans, or about 23 million people, lack access to FCC-recommended internet speeds of 25 megabits per second download and 3 Mbps upload. Township residents, officials said, complained about slow or no internet second only to bad roads. It’s a project the township’s been working on for about a decade, driven by the vision of former supervisor Robert Benjamin and a reality everyone seemed to acknowledge, according to Sweeney: that these days, high-speed internet is simply something “you’ve got to have” for online work, school and entertainment. The area in question is the final piece in Milton Township’s puzzle to give its 3,800 residents access to high-speed internet and banish the days of dial-up, township supervisor Kelly Sweeney said. 2 and, if the weather cooperates, could be completed in the first quarter, with home connections available in the spring. The township board voted this past December to award $75,000 to Midwest Energy & Communications of Cassopolis to install five miles of fiber that will be able to serve about 80 homes north of U.S. High-speed internet in one pocket of Cass County will get a boost this year as Milton Township invests in rolling out more fiber. ![]()
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