The Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI) reports that Round 1 of its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program generated 392 applications, with more than 193,000 addresses covered by at least one of those applications.
MIHI said that it now is scoring and “deconflicting” the applications and will get in touch with applicants when they have worked through the process. Michigan will receive $1.559 billion in BEAD funding.
Telecompetitor reached out to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity about the program’s status. The department said that there are 248,000 eligible locations in the state. This means that 55,000 locations are to this point not included on any application. The MIHI spokesperson said that information on total funding requests will be released after the applications are reviewed.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved a BEAD scoring tweak for Michigan late last month. The change is that the lowest minimum passing score requirement now is 25% of total points across all scoring criteria. There no longer is a requirement for a specific number of points in a particular section.
BEAD is not the only program benefitting Michiganders. For instance, last November, MIHI said that its Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks (ROBIN) program has provided broadband to more than 10,000 addresses.
The program consists of two rounds of public and private funding. The first, which was in October 2023, provided $166 million in grants and $133 million in matching funds to offer access to 55,425 unserved locations. The second round provides $71,776,890.94 in grant funds to 17 total projects from seven applicants. The applicants will provide $86,380,646.20 in matching funds.
Additional information about Michigan broadband, including links to state funding resources, BEAD news, awards made, state-specific Telecompetitor coverage, and more can be found on Telecompetitor’s Broadband Nation webpage for the state.
