Peninsula Fiber Network and 123NET started construction on the $87 million middle-mile broadband infrastructure project to expand high-speed internet access across Michigan.
It’s called the IMPACC Project — infrastructure for Michigan’s peninsulas and critical crossings.
PFN provides telecommunications, transport and broadband services, while 123Net acts as a fiber internet service provider.
In 2021, the companies applied for a Federal National Telecommunications and Information Administration Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grant. They received $61.2 million in 2023 in addition to $26 million in private investment.
The IMPACC project includes three major routes:
Route 1: Underwater fiber from Benton Harbor to Chicago, plus on-land fiber to Byron Center.
Route 2: Underwater and land-based fiber from Gulliver to Beaver Island to Charlevoix and Gaylord.
Route 3: 111 miles of on-land fiber from Port Huron to Flint.
Construction began on Route 3 in June and is expected to be completed in 18 months. Construction on Routes 1 and 2 will start after additional environmental assessments, engineering and permits are obtained. The project will be finished by 2028.
Jennifer Greenburg, vice president of government affairs for Peninsula Fiber Network, said that the project will provide an open-access network, which means that though PFN and 123Net will own the network, other internet service providers can use it.
By making this middle-mile capacity more closely available to the end users, she said it creates competition in the marketplace, making it less expensive for the internet service providers to connect.
Greenburg said the IMPACC project was designed to create redundancy in the broadband network, or establish alternative routes to ensure that service is provided.
The only fiber connections between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas stretch across the Mackinac Bridge and are in need of an update, Greenburg said. Route 2 of the project will add another connection between the peninsulas, plus provide internet services to Beaver Island, which has gone without a broadband connection, only DSL.
“This route was designed specifically to stop on Beaver Island so that the folks on the island would now have a wired connection,” Greenburg said.
Dick Mulvihill, vice president of the Beaver Island Association, is working to improve internet service on the island, where he has lived for the past 10 years.
Currently, Beaver Island depends on outdated and expensive DSL service, Mulvihill said. Efforts to secure funding have failed because of high costs, and federal policy changes shut the community out of the $42 billion BEAD broadband program, he said.
Without outside help, Mulvihill says the only option is to build a $9.3 million community-owned fiber-to-the-home network that would reach all 1,130 homes and businesses.
“We have no help at all,” he said. “We’re on our own.”
The community project is set for a community vote in November 2026.
Partners for the project include ACD, Merit Networks, and other local groups. Grants have been secured for planning and outreach and organizers are working to show residents how cost savings from switching to fiber could offset new local taxes.
Mulvihill said that the island’s current slow service threatens the island’s economy, tourism, education, telemedicine and ability to attract young families.
Additionally, unlike mainland communities, Beaver Island’s remoteness means it cannot rely on nearby towns for internet access. While other high-cost rural areas face similar problems, Mulvihill calls Beaver Island a “worst-case scenario.”
The risks of limited access to mainland amenities were demonstrated through the two-week blackout experienced by 60% of the island during the March ice storm. Burying electric lines alongside fiber to prevent outages in the future has been proposed.
In such emergencies, Greenburg said Peninsula Fiber Network can support next-generation 911 service, working alongside counties and 911 centers to ensure calls can be routed across Michigan’s critical infrastructure network.
“When we take a look at where we’re going and how we’re going to get there, we couldn’t get there without the support of these local communities,” Greenburg said. “(They) have really embraced the project and what it will do to the unserved and underserved populations in their area.”
Middle-mile connectivity will get a boost from the IMPACC Project, which will link Beaver Island to the mainland.
The IMPACC Project will not directly connect homes and businesses on the island to the internet, but it can be used to provide service to the community-owned network if the community decides to build it.
“It’s a major, major, major win,” Mulvihill said.
