Who we are: An all-volunteer group of western Washtenaw County residents and friends, working to bring affordable high quality, reliable, and uncapped internet access to our area.
Our history: We have been engaged in this effort for more than 2 years. What we have learned:
- After discussions with our current internet service providers, we have learned that there is no interest at the legislative level in helping rural Michigan become better connected to the internet
- Other rural communities in Michigan have successfully brought reliable/affordable internet to their residents through citizen action. More are currently working toward this.
The co-op model:
- We work with all rural townships in Washtenaw and Jackson County, to assist in information gathering and to help get the ball rolling
- Our plan is to be the owner of the fiber infrastructure. Internet service would be provided by third party.
Michigan Broadband Co-op internet service will incorporate these basics:
- Internet fiber will be brought to every house in the township, regardless of location, and regardless of property setback
- Once the fiber infrastructure is in place, the Co-op will request bids from internet service providers; internet speed, reliability and the absence of data caps will be required of the providers
- Remember, this service will NOT have data caps. For those in Lyndon who already have some form of internet service, data downloads are generally capped binge-watching a single show can exhaust 10 gigs in about 3 hours, leaving the household with the choice of NO internet service for the remainder of the month, or purchasing additional data segments if those are even offered by the provider.
