Many people in northern Michigan live without access to broadband internet. Others have high-speed fiber connections. In this special call-in hour, IPR tackles the future of broadband in northern Michigan.
In Kalkaksa County, 60 percent of residents lack access to high-speed internet. That’s according to data from the Federal Communications Commission, which increased its standards for speed in 2015.
More than a third of rural residents in the United States do not have access to broadband service, according to the FCC.
Rural areas in northern Michigan face barriers to high-speed internet access that do not exist in more urban environments. The lack of population density leaves little incentive for private investment. Plus there are challenges that come with the area’s hilly, wooded terrain.
Join guests Tom Stephenson with Connect Michigan, Jim Selby of Aspen Wireless, and Charlevoix County Commissioner Chris Christensen.