Washtenaw County Broadband Equity
In 2017 the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners established the Broadband Equity Sub-Committee to identify Broadband inequity issues across Washtenaw County. Their work led to the creation of the Washtenaw County Broadband Task Force (WCBTF) in 2019 to explore viable grant opportunities to address the inequity in county wide broadband access.
Due to the unreliability of the FCC Form 477 reporting system, the task force commissioned a county wide, parcel by parcel study of exactly what was served and unserved. Physically driving by nearly 31,000 homes and businesses across 15 Washtenaw County townships identified more than 8000 occupied parcels (almost entirely residential), without access to reliable high-speed internet as defined by the FCC as having 25 Mb/s minimum download speeds, and 3 Mb/s upload speeds.
The Study was conducted in early 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic was defining a new set of social requirements for how we educate, work, shop, and generally function in society. The efforts of the WCBTF all of a sudden became far more important as they were now setting new standards for how to effectively and practically solve Rural Broadband inequity issues across the State of Michigan.
Click here for the full study →
The FCC opened the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) later in 2020 and conducted a reverse auction to provide funding for all unserved rural areas in the country. But since it was based on the Form 477 data, it only covered about 5000 of the 8000 homes in Washtenaw County. Fortunately, the WCBTF already had the accurate data it needed and went to work to fill in the remaining gaps left by RDOF and Form 477.
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was enacted in March of 2021 to deliver immediate and direct relief to families and workers impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. This provided funding for Washtenaw County to address multiple issues across the county, and in September of 2021 the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners approved $14.7M in ARPA funding to address the still existing inequity in Broadband Access across the County.
Click the map to check our the interactive and searchable version →
Also check out the Washtenaw Broadband Answers page on FB
Leelanau County Board of Commissioners
Rural Broadband Inventory
Physical survey of nearly 23,000 homes and businesses across all of Leelanau Counties eleven survey townships, including several villages and communities, which are mostly or entirely rural. The survey identified more than 5000 occupied parcels (almost entirely residential), without access to reliable high speed internet as defined by the FCC as having 25 Mb/s minimum download speeds, and 3 Mb/s upload speeds.
The study included the following:
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Served/Unserved Audit of every Parcel
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Inventory of all cabled technologies including DSL
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County Wide Unlicensed Wireless Technologies Assessment
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Cellular provider signal level survey measuring more than 100,000 data points
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Consolidated database into ArcGIS for used by the County for future ISP coordination and planning
Click on the cover page to the right to view the published study. Click here, or on the county seal above to access the interactive online map currently tracking construction progress and providing homeowner information on new services.
“Leelanau County regularly engages firms, contractors and consultants to provide county services and manage construction and design projects. In my nine years of serving as Leelanau County Commissioner, I believe that our board’s decision to contract with DCS Technology Design to manage our current broadband project has been the single best contract decision of my tenure. Chris’ ‘boots on the ground’ visibility, research and mapping services, organizational skills, constant communications with all stakeholders and ongoing work with contractors and has been first class and exemplary. We could not be where we are today without DCS’ leadership and expertise. I recommend DCS highly and without any reservation! Chris is the best!”
Ty Wessell
Leelanau County Commissioner, District 4, Chairman
Van Buren County
This study was developed around the 18 individual townships, plus The City of South Haven and Casco Township in Allegan County. The orange hatched areas below indicate unserved parcels today, representing over 24% of the occupied parcels in the county. About half of those parcels (12% overall) have been funded through RDOF or USDA Reconnect programs, with builds underway, all required to be complete before 2026. But that still left nearly 5000 Gap Parcels as unserved occupied parcels with no current plan.
The study included:
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Served/Unserved Audit of every Parcel
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Defined Proposed Funded Service Areas (PFSA)
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Construction Budget Forecast by Township
Click the cover page to the right to see the full study →
Click the map ↓ to see the interactive and searchable version being developed
In the News
Highlights
Berrien County
Over 86,000 (73,000 occupied) parcels make up 568 square miles and over 2300 road miles known as Berrien County, Michigan. The county has 22 Townships, 8 Cities and 9 Villages that were all surveyed, including the densest urban areas, for broadband serviceability. And amazingly, there were addresses found within the most populated city limits that did not have access to cabled broadband of at least 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload speeds.
The study included the following.
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Served/Unserved Audit of every Parcel
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Defined Proposed Funded Service Areas (PFSA)
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Construction Budget Forecast by Township
In the News
Commissioners confident Berrien County well positioned for broadband funding
“Working with our consultant through DCS was incredible,” Freehling said.
Highlights
Muskegon County
Muskegon County has a mix of urban to some rural areas that can become inaccessible during winter months. The need for reliable communications to these isolated corners of this county, are as important as the densely populated urban areas. Muskegon County also has several service providers and based on the older Form 477 reporting and the RDOF awards based on that data, is thought to be mostly served. The ongoing study is challenging that assumption.
Muskegon County has more than 83,000 parcels across the entire county. The Broadband Services are included for the urban areas, but the primary focus will be nearly 57,000 parcels across 16 Townships, 3 cities and 4 villages that make up Rural Muskegon.
The study includes:
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Served/Unserved Audit of every Parcel
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Defining Proposed Funded Service Areas (PFSA)
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Private Public Partnership (PPP) exploration for pursing grant funding
Lenawee County
With several data sources (including RDOF) not aligning with the BDC, the Lenawee mapping project is a reconciliation and validation process of all data to develop a clear set of requirements for BEAD funding. There are over 1650 miles of roads and over 54,500 parcels to check and validate. The result will be a clear and accurate count of all unserved occupied parcels, and a clear and accurate picture of exactly where all existing and planned Broadband services are or will be available. Then a practical plan can be developed to pursue BEAD, or other funding sources.
The study includes:
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Served/Unserved Audit of every Parcel
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Defined Proposed Funded Service Areas (PFSA)
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Construction Budget Forecast by Township
Iosco County
At less than 50 people per square mile, a lot of unoccupied wildernesses, and many seasonal roads, Iosco is especially challenging to plan for Broadband services to every occupied parcel, but that is the goal. There are about 975 miles of roads and over 31,400 parcels to check and validate. Without a lot of field validated data, this project is requiring a full field study with a lot of community support. The result will be a clear and accurate count of all unserved occupied parcels, and a clear and accurate picture of exactly where all existing and planned Broadband services are or will be available so that a practical plan can be developed to pursue BEAD, or other funding sources.
Iosco County hires consultant in effort to better broadband internet for residents
“The references said we would be stupid if we did not take them,” Soboleski said
St. Joseph County
The study will include:
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Served/Unserved Audit of every Parcel
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Defined Proposed Funded Service Areas (PFSA)
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Construction Budget Forecast by Township
Cass County
The study will include:
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Served/Unserved Audit of every Parcel
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Defined Proposed Funded Service Areas (PFSA)
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Construction Budget Forecast by Township