Funding pledged to bring Broadband access to every home in Washtenaw County
White areas on the map are currently served by broadband, blue areas are covered by the RDOF grant, and red areas will be covered by the American Rescue Plan money if the proposed package is passed by the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioner’s upcoming September 15 meeting. Map from Washtenaw County Broadband Taskforce webpage.
Last Wednesday evening, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners Funding unanimously passed a historic resolution pledging up to $30.5 million dollars for community investments through the Ways and Means Committee. This proposed package leverages $24 million of the $71 million coming to the county through the American Rescue Plan Act. One of the programs it will fund is bringing high speed internet access to all parts of Washtenaw!
“By passing this resolution through the Ways and Means Committee meeting, we are one step closer to bringing about important structural change in our county,” said Justin Hodge, Chair of the Ways and Means Committee and Commissioner for District 5. “With this resolution, we have a unique chance to help build a more equitable community, so that no matter where you live, you have the access to the opportunity you need to be able to thrive.”
In December of 2020, the County announced that many of the areas in Washtenaw without broadband would be receiving broadband through The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), a federal broadband grant program that will work with existing internet providers to buildout to specified areas within six years providing internet service access with a minimum speed of 25/3 Mbps. The Manchester area benefitted heavily from this grant.
Manchester’s County Commissioner, Shannon Beeman, explained that there were roughly 3,000 homes left in Washtenaw County still left out after the RDOF grant and other programs the county has received to expand rural broadband. Of those 3,000, there are 22 in Freedom Township, 43 in Bridgewater Township, and 140 in Manchester Township. Sharon Township was fully covered by the RDOF grant. Of the $30.5 million in the proposed package, $14,672,270 will go toward bringing broadband to these remaining homes.
Beeman explained that the Broadband Taskforce oversees this process with support from Washtenaw County to review bids for contractors who will be laying the physical structure. She stated, “This process has moved along with the RDOF dollars and a similar process is being followed for these ARP/Washtenaw County dollars. The Broadband Taskforce has already been through the process of identifying homes, roads, and areas to use for service and what is left to do is start laying fiber!”
When will currently unserved Manchester Area residents actually have broadband? Beeman continued, “Unfortunately, this will not happen overnight. It is a multi-year plan that we wish to execute as quickly as possible. Currently, AT&T is struggling to obtain the physical fiber to lay for their customers with the manufacturing/shipping issues from the pandemic. We know if one of the largest companies in the area cannot get their hands on fiber, we will struggle to get the material as well. This is one of the many reasons it was so important to move quickly and secure these ARP dollars early.”
While actual physical access is one part of the equation, monthly cost can be just as restrictive. Beeman added, “A portion of these dollars will also be used to address affordability of broadband for residents across Washtenaw County. The details of this program have yet to be finalized. This is simply an allocation dedicating roughly $800,000 to help residents who cannot cover the cost of broadband.”
This resolution will now go to the full Board of Commissioners meeting on September 15 for a final vote.
In addition to broadband, this package addresses immediate concerns around childcare access, launching a childhood savings account program to encourage generational success, expanding the county’s weatherization services, and practicing good government.
The rest of the county’s $71 million American Rescue Plan Act allocation is yet to be determined.
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