ANN ARBOR – Merit Network announced Wednesday that it has completed milestones for its REACH-3MC Round II fiber-optic construction project.
REACH-3MC Round II began in August 2010 when Merit received grant funding to construct 1,270 miles of fiber-optic infrastructure across 29 counties in Michigan’s Northern Lower and Upper Peninsula with additional paths to key interconnection points in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
On Wednesday, 98 percent of all underground conduit, aerial strand and infrastructure have been deployed along the route, with 90 percent of all fiber installed. Splicing is nearly complete on all Round II Lower Peninsula fiber and continues on segments in the Upper Peninsula.
“I am pleased to announce our continued progress on the REACH-3MC Round II project. Building over 1,000 miles of fiber-optic infrastructure, connecting over 85 community anchor institutions, while following federal rules and regulations without changing the scope or budget in 3 years, is an accomplishment that we are very proud of,” said Don Welch, president & CEO, Merit Network.
Led by Merit Network, the goal of REACH-3MC Round II is to construct “middle-mile” fiber-optic infrastructure that connects communities together. In the process, Merit connects community anchor institutions, or CAIs (schools, libraries, health care, government, public safety), by way of “laterals,” or spurs, from the mainline.
REACH-3MC Round II will connect a total of 88 community anchor institutions as part of the project. Each CAI lateral has a capacity of 1 Gbps (gigabit per second).
Merit has completed connections to all REACH-3MC Round II community anchor institutions in the Lower Peninsula and is working with a few remaining organizations to provision them service. In the Upper Peninsula, Merit has completed construction on all but 6 CAI laterals and continues to provision service to its Member CAIs.
The REACH-3MC Round II infrastructure already has had a positive impact for Merit Members at Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District (EUP ISD) and Cheboygan-Otsego-Presque Isle Educational Service District (COP ESD).
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has issued the REACH-3MC Round II project a no-cost extension.
The NTIA oversees and administers the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). REACH-3MC Round II is funded in part by a BTOP grant. With the award of BTOP grant funding, the NTIA set a specific award period for REACH-3MC Round II project completion ending on July 31.
Prior to the extension, the federal funds originally committed to the project would have expired on July 31, 2013. The no-cost extension means that Merit can continue to use the federal funding committed to REACH-3MC II to finish the project. No new federal funding will be expended on the project.
“The NTIA’s decision to issue our project a no-cost extension shows that the agency acknowledges the unique challenges and complexities Merit has faced implementing our Round II grant,” said Merit President & CEO, Don Welch.
“Constructing fiber-optic cable in the Upper Peninsula has posed unforeseen challenges that have delayed our progress,? Welch said. ?The project has encountered significantly more bedrock than planned for which requires extensive drilling and has slowed our construction crews, who were already delayed by an exceptionally long Michigan winter that saw snowfall continue into the month of May.?
“The NTIA no-cost extension underscores the success and progress REACH-3MC II has accomplished thus far. The NTIA believes in what we have achieved and the benefits our project will bring to Michigan upon its completion,” he said.
