Berrien County’s broadband task force, BC Bit, is now seeing the end of its mission approaching with only about 2,000 unserved properties left in the county.
Speaking at Thursday’s regular meeting of the Berrien County Board of Commissioners, Commissioner Teri Freehling said a meeting was held last week between the county, township leaders, and internet service providers about the next round of grant funding to expand broadband availability to unserved areas. Freeling said these ISPs are applying for $1.4 billion in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program grants that will soon be accepted by the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office. They’re seeking letters of support from townships and the county.
“I think we had five internet service providers that were there at the meeting saying they were looking actively at submitting a BEAD application for Berrien County,” Freehling said.
Commissioner Jim Curran said it’s gratifying to know BC Bit’s goal of making sure no part of Berrien County lacks high-speed internet access has almost been reached.
“For someone who’s been on that since its inception — what, seven years ago — it is really exciting to see that we’re getting towards the end,” Curran said. “Less than 2,000 parcels to be served. Just great work.”
Berrien County Administrator Brian Dissette said as ISPs pursue these BEAD Grants, all they’re asking for is those letters of support from municipalities. They’re not seeking any matching funds, and Dissette said all of this will come at no cost to the county.
Freehling said a draft letter is available at BC Bit’s page at BerrienCounty.org. It also includes several dashboards showing broadband data for the county. You can find the page right here.
