MANISTEE – Merit Network announced Tuesday the commencement

of construction for the REACH-3MC Broadband Stimulus Project. At a

groundbreaking ceremony to mark the occasion, Merit staff were joined by

representatives from the offices of U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Debbie

Stabenow, Manistee Intermediate School District, Connect Manistee, the

Manistee Alliance for Economic Success, and construction vendor

Earthcom.

“Extending broadband connectivity to every Michigan community will

assist in diversifying the state’s economy,” stated Governor Jennifer M.

Granholm. “The Merit Network project funded by the Recovery Act will

give schools, local governments, libraries, health care providers and

other important anchor institutions in Michigan access to high-quality,

high-speed Internet service and provide expanded opportunities for

economic development throughout the state.”

“Today is the culmination of a tremendous amount of hard work and

collaboration between many key stakeholders in our state,” said Merit

President and CEO, Don Welch. “Today shows that we are committed and

well-positioned to achieve the goals of this project that the NTIA has

entrusted Merit to accomplish.”

In 2010, Merit received two grants from the Department of Commerce to

fund a 2,287-mile fiber-optic infrastructure build through many rural

areas of Michigan. The network will also provide backhaul to key

connection points in Wisconsin and Minnesota. REACH-3MC is funded

through BTOP (Broadband Technology Opportunity Program) of the NTIA

(National Telecommunications and Information Administration).

“Merit is proud to lead REACH-3MC as we seek to improve Internet

resources that will benefit education and economic development,” said

Bob Stovall, vice president of network engineering and operations for

Merit Network. “What has begun here in Manistee will go on to have a

profound impact on Michigan.”

The groundbreaking ceremony was held at the offices of Manistee

Intermediate School District. Manistee is the first of many communities

where Merit will construct REACH-3MC fiber-optic infrastructure along

its extensive route. Manistee ISD is the first community anchor

institution to be connected to the REACH-3MC network.

“The Manistee Intermediate School District is very excited to be

involved in the Merit REACH-3MC project. This broadband project has

great potential to improve communications throughout the state of

Michigan,” said Scott Crosby, superintendent of Manistee Intermediate

School District and Wexford-Missaukee Intermediate School District.

“As a community, we are also very excited about Merit’s decision to

start the project here in Manistee. Manistee County Schools look forward

to the positive impact this network will have on education.”

Through REACH-3MC, Merit will enable state and local governments,

colleges, schools, libraries, health care facilities and other community

anchor institutions to connect to Merit’s private, high-performance

network, enabling them to lower costs, consolidate services and provide

more to Michigan’s citizens. Merit engages commercial sub-recipients on

REACH-3MC to improve service to homes and businesses. Merit’s existing

fiber backbone combined with the REACH-3MC network infrastructure will

create a robust footprint in the state, providing Michigan with a

strategic asset to leverage in the future.

“From our county, city, townships and villages to our businesses,

nonprofits and health care providers, we have unified around the

importance of high-speed Internet to our economic well-being and quality

of life,” said Cyndy Fuller, executive director of the Manistee Alliance

for Economic Success.

“With Merit, we have taken a giant leap toward our vision of having

high-speed Internet service available to all in Manistee County,

positioning us in this communication-dependent environment of the new

economy to attract knowledge workers and connecting to emerging global

opportunities.”

The first phase of construction, which the groundbreaking ceremony

commemorated, involves distributing fiber-optic cable through existing

underground conduit that Merit purchased from Manistee ISD as part of

the REACH-3MC project. Because existing conduit was available for

purchase, Merit was able to create cost savings for the project.

The conduit is approximately 21 miles and begins roughly a

mile south of Manistee, runs north and terminates in Bear Lake. The

conduit will interconnect with future REACH-3MC infrastructure at each end.

Earthcom, Inc. will participate in a portion of the REACH-3MC project

construction, with additional contractors working in other parts of the

state.

“This one small project will add six new employees to our team. In

addition it has created jobs for material providers, trucking companies,

and the local area merchants,” said Peter Bertsch, President and CEO of

Earthcom, Inc. “It is a great feeling to know we will be a small part of

Michigan’s recovery.”

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