MARQUETTE, MI— Peninsula Fiber Network has received a federal grant to install broadband infrastructure across three routes in the state.
The Marquette-based company was given $61.2 million from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program. “Middle mile” broadband infrastructure refers to the intermediate fiberoptic connections that serve as the backbone of internet connectivity.
The first route will connect Benton Harbor and Chicago. The second route will connect the town of Gulliver in the U.P. with Beaver Island and downstate Charlevoix. Currently, the only fiber access between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas is across the Mackinac Bridge. And the third route will be installed between Flint and Port Huron.
PFN will contribute $26 million toward the project.
