Fiber Construction Underway in Southeast Michigan

Published on Tuesday, October 1, 2019 in Internet

Midwest Energy & Communications (MEC) began construction last week to bring fiber internet service to its electric customers across rural southeast Michigan and northern Ohio.

IN 2015, MEC launched a five-year fiber deployment in its southwest Michigan territory, leveraging the investment in the electric distribution grid to deliver a robust high-speed option to its electric customers. That deployment wraps up this fall with well over 10,000 subscribers using the service.

“For far too long, rural Americans have not enjoyed access to the same amenities as their urban counterparts,” says Bob Hance, MEC President/CEO. “The rural space is largely unserved or underserved with reliable high-speed options, and our mission is to deliver a first-in-class solution where others won’t so that geography doesn’t define a person’s scope of opportunity.

“Once upon a time, internet was a luxury, but today it is a key driver behind daily activities like education, healthcare, work and entertainment.”

The co-op implemented a 24-month construction timeline. Efforts began in Tecumseh on the northeast side of the district, and will proceed counterclockwise through the Michigan portion of the service territory before heading into Ohio. “We’d love to make this available to everyone right now, but we’re essentially building a system from scratch using our electric distribution infrastructure as the foundation. There are a number of steps to this process including mainline construction and splicing, and drop construction and splicing,” Hance explains. “It’s a time- and labor-intensive process, but one that is transforming the rural experience.”

Construction Timeline

To learn more or register for service, please visit https://teammidwest.smarthub.coop/Login.html#newconnect: