Ottawa County Board approves agreement to expand broadband access

OTTAWA COUNTY — A project to bring broadband access to under and unserved homes in Ottawa County is officially moving forward after a vote by the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, Dec. 12.

Commissioners approved a master agreement and letter of intent with 123Net to utilize state and county dollars to build an open-access, carrier-neutral broadband internet infrastructure. The project is expected to result in nearly 400 miles of new fiber in the county and provide further internet access to nearly 10,000 residents and businesses.

More: Ottawa County awarded state grant funds for broadband project

More: Allegan County, 123NET receive $65 million grant for high-speed internet

Ottawa County was awarded around $14 million through a state grant for Realizing Opportunities with Broadband Infrastructure Networks. In addition, the county is using $7.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds and 123Net is contributing $3.5 million, bringing the project total to $25 million.

"Honestly, I'm incredibly proud of the years of work, collaboration, and support that's been required to move this critical infrastructure project forward,” said Paul Sachs, director of Ottawa County’s Department of Strategic Impact.

“This infrastructure will give our residents, business owners, farmers, students and others the access needed to continue to lead Michigan’s growth and development in the modern digital age.”

The agreement commissioners voted on wasn't included in the packet for Tuesday’s meeting. Prior to discussions, the board took a recess of more than two hours to allow commissioners time to review the document.

Following the recess and discussion, the agreement was approved unanimously.

Board Chair Joe Moss thanked Sachs, legal counsel Jack Jordan, administrator John Gibbs and 123Net for their work in creating the agreement.

Moss called the agreement a “significant opportunity” for the county and said it will continue to be a collaborative process.

“The process up until this point, right now, and moving forward has been very collaborative with a lot of input,” he said. “It's a large, complex opportunity. There’s a lot of exciting details.”

123Net officials said the network will be open to customers as it’s constructed, meaning most potential customers will have access before the project deadline at the end of 2026. Justin Lampman said the company’s rates start at $59 per month with no installation fees for homes within 300 feet of the road.

Moss asked 123Net if the company is willing to work with local units to expand the network beyond the scope of the initial project. Lampman said, although it wouldn’t be in the scope of the ROBIN grant, the company would be open to further discussion.

"We are eager to accept the ROBIN grant award and begin building the network to make Ottawa County one of the best connected in the state," said 123NET Founder and CEO Dan Irvin. "Bringing world class, open access fiber internet to Ottawa County residents will offer benefits to the community for years to come."

ROBIN is a high-speed internet competitive grant program with $238 million from the U.S. Treasury as part of the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, according to the state's website. The program supports internet service providers and public-private partnerships for the expansion of broadband infrastructure to unserved areas.

The county initially agreed to a letter of intent with 123Net in March, enabling an application to the ROBIN grant program. There was discussion of limiting the county’s potential contribution to $3.5 million, but the signed LOI said the county was willing to commit up to $7.5 million.

Last week, during a Dec. 5 meeting, Sachs said engineering work and feedback will occur through the winter and spring, with construction likely to begin in the summer or fall of 2024.

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The board also approved an agreement with Tilson Technology for fixed wireless internet towers. The towers are intended to improve internet connection for those who won't receive service from the new fiber network.

In June, 123NET also won an initial award of $65 million to construct an open-access, carrier-neutral fiber network for Allegan County.

— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Ottawa County Board approves agreement to expand broadband access