COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Branch County broadband project which will provide internet service to underserved areas is almost halfway done.
Todd Kruse from Frontier Communications said in his quarterly report for the Branch County Board of Commissioners on Thursday that they are 45 percent complete since the work started this past spring.
He said as of October tenth, 2,102 locations are completed out of the 4,690 that were eligible under terms of the Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks competitive grant, otherwise known as ROBIN, from the State of Michigan.
Kruse added 430 customers have already subscribed to a Frontier fiber service.
The project is expected to be finished sometime in 2026. Kruse said the next wave of construction will take place around the City of Coldwater, Coldwater Lake and Quincy.
Branch County has been looking at updating broadband service since 2020.
Besides the ROBIN grant, Branch County was approved for a $1 million U.S.D.A. grant earlier this year.
The Branch County Commissioners accepted a county broadband proposal from Frontier in December of 2022. Any potential partnership with Frontier was contingent on getting grant funds.
The Commissioners voted in March of 2023 to pledge $1 million of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act money to help fund the project if the county got a state grant.
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