If you live in a city in Michigan, chances are you have good internet service at a fairly decent price. But that’s not the case for rural parts of the state, and Representative Mary Whiteford of the South Haven area is trying to change that with her “Broadband Investment Act.”
“One of my township officials said there’s a woman on the other side of the street with fiber, but she can’t get access to it without paying $5,000-$7000,” Whiteford said. “People can’t afford that.”
Whiteford says her bill, currently before a committee after being introduced this spring, can help bring those costs down. Whiteford says it’s designed to encourage the expansion of broadband services to unserved and underserved areas of Michigan through the creation of a fund and governing board. She adds a similar system is already operating in Minnesota and has made substantial strides in broadband expansion.
