A $3 million grant will help expand high-speed internet in remote and underserved areas in the eastern Upper Peninsula, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo announced Tuesday.
Merit Network will use the funding to build out a 70-mile, middle-mile fiber optic infrastructure in Chippewa, Luce, and Mackinac counties.
The grant will be matched with $2.3 million in local funds.
The project is expected to create 50 jobs, retain 10 jobs and generate $5 million in private investment.