The efforts of Berrien County to expand broadband internet access have been highlighted in a new video from the non-profit, Connected Nation. The group was on hand for a meeting of the Michigan High Speed Internet Office in Benton Township in February and spoke with local elected officials. It’s showcasing the work going on nationwide to make the internet more accessible to all. Berrien County Commissioner Teri Freehling told them she wound up working on broadband for the county after having broadband trouble of her own at her farm.
“Where I live is currently classified as being served from the FCC’s maps, and I can’t get service of anything greater than ten-one, even though it claims I’m over 25 [megabytes per second],” Freehling said. “And so I started on this quest to improve it for myself, but I found that there were a number of others in the community who also had the same challenges.”
Berrien County Administrator Brian Dissette said his office hears from people all over the county about poor internet service.
“Everything from a lack of connectivity, a lack of affordability, and then we also hear from the local governments about a lack of solutions,” Dissette said.
Berrien County set up a committee to tackle the broadband issue, and it’s worked with firms to create detailed maps of every property countywide and their broadband service. That’s as the county seeks grants to work with ISPs to add more high-speed internet. Connected Nation says about half the counties in the state are doing the same, and they’re in the best position to help their residents when funds become available.
