June 26, 2023

Contact: [email protected]

Gov. Whitmer Announces More than 200,000 Michiganders will Gain Access to High-Speed Internet Under Historic Funding from Biden Administration 

Michigan received fourth-highest grant funding in the nation to expand high-speed internet to households and small businesses. 

LANSING, Mich. — Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced Michigan is set to receive over $1.5 billion through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to expand high-speed internet access and digital equity to over 200,000 Michiganders in unserved and underserved areas across the state. Funding for this program comes from the $65 billion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and will help close the digital divide and help ensure Michigan residents have access to affordable, reliable and high-speed internet.

“Today, we have won a game-changing investment to expand access to reliable, affordable high-speed internet to 210,000 more homes across Michigan,” said Governor Whitmer. “We are focused on helping anyone ‘Make it in Michigan,’ with a comprehensive view on economic development that wins projects, invests in people, and revitalizes places. Today’s win will expand economic opportunity for Michiganders and build on the over $700 million in high-speed internet federal funding we have leveraged and $249 million we invested with the bipartisan Building Michigan Together Plan last year. Let’s keep working together to connect more families and small businesses to fast, reliable high-speed internet that meets their needs, lowers their costs, and grows our economy.”

Each state and territory received a minimum of $100 million and the remainder of their allocation is based on the number of locations currently unserved by high-speed internet as identified on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) National Broadband Map.

“Today’s announcement is going to play a major part in closing the digital divide and connecting Michiganders to education, health care and economic opportunity,” said Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II. “Governor Whitmer and I are committed to expanding access to high-speed internet throughout Michigan and will continue working with anyone to connect Michigan families and small businesses and grow our economy.”

The Michigan High Speed Internet Office (MIHI) will finish the required BEAD 5-Year Action Plan that will set the vision, goals, and priorities for the implementation of the funds. Following the plan, MIHI will develop the BEAD Initial Proposal that will define the subgrant processes that will deploy the funds to achieve the universal availability of high-speed internet across the state.

“The MIHI team is thrilled to see the announcement of the BEAD program,” said Eric Frederick, Chief Connectivity Officer with the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office. “This grant is crucial to achieve affordable, reliable high-speed internet for all Michiganders and close the digital equity gap here in Michigan.”

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is administering the BEAD Program along with additional funding programs that promote innovation and economic growth by supporting efforts to expand broadband connectivity, including the Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks (ROBIN) Grant Program.

“Access to high-speed internet means access to jobs, education, and healthcare. These investments in high-speed internet infrastructure will mean that even the most remote areas of Michigan have equitable access to high-speed internet,” said Zachary Kolodin, Michigan’s Chief Infrastructure Office and Director of the Michigan Infrastructure Office. “The federal funding we’ve received from the BEAD program will allow us to connect more than 200,000 underserved households to high-quality, high-speed internet, ensuring that every home in all of Michigan’s 83 counties has broadband access.”

“High speed internet isn’t a luxury, it’s an essential service that we need for everything from work, school, doctors’ visits, and paying our bills,” said Senator Debbie Stabenow. “With the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Senator Peters and I were able to ensure major investments like this to expand affordable, reliable broadband in Michigan. In partnership with Governor Whitmer and the Michigan High Speed Internet Office, this new infrastructure will allow for telemedicine, remote learning, and other services families and businesses rely on in Michigan.”

“Reliable, affordable high-speed internet is critical for all Michiganders, including in unserved and underserved communities,” said Senator Gary Peters. “I’m pleased to help deliver this game-changing federal investment in high-speed internet to our state. This will make a big difference for families, workers, students and small businesses, including to those who currently lack access, and is important to economic opportunity and competitiveness.”

“Reliable internet access is essential for students, workers and small businesses to be successful in the global economy,” said Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-08). “I am proud to have passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to improve internet access in Michigan communities. In Congress, I will continue fighting to bring federal resources home to Michigan.”

“From telehealth to virtual learning, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted just how essential the internet is to our everyday lives, and just how many Americans still lack access to these basic resources,” said Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-6). “Expanding strong broadband internet access is a critical piece of bringing our infrastructure into the 21st century, and BEAD will help connect our communities who need it the most.”

Michigan will begin deploying the BEAD program funds mid to late 2024.

Stay up to date on the progress of the BEAD program in Michigan by visiting the MIHI website at Michigan.gov/MIHI

June 22, 2023

Contact: [email protected]

Gov. Whitmer Proclaims June 22-25 as June Jubilee: A Celebration of Freedom

LANSING, Mich.- Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer proclaimed June 22 through 25 as June Jubilee: A Celebration of Freedom, commemorating historic events that have shaped our nation’s progress toward equality, justice, and civil rights. On June 23, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. marched down Woodward Avenue in Detroit to advance jobs, justice, and freedom and delivered his famed “I Have a Dream” speech for the first time.

“Today I am proud to proclaim June Jubilee in Michigan to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and celebrate the efforts of the Detroit Branch of the NAACP,” said Governor Whitmer. “This year marks 60 years since Dr. King debuted his iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech right here in Detroit. Together we have strived to live up the ideals he laid out decades ago by facing racial disparities in health care, education, housing, and so much more head on. We have made meaningful progress—closing the school funding gap, expanding health care to one million people, and lowering costs of child care, pre-K, housing, and job training—but we still have more to do. Our mission is to keep striving and working together to deliver real change that makes a difference in people’s lives and build a just, equitable Michigan for all.”

“Since its founding, the Detroit NAACP has been an integral part of campaigns for social justice and human rights,” said Lt. Governor Galin Gilchrist II. “Since we took office, members of the NAACP have been active members of several different task forces aimed at ending racial disparities in health care, education, housing, and opportunity. Michigan is a place where anyone—no matter who you love, how you identify, or the color of your skin—can prosper.”

June 23, 2023, marks 60 years since this important event in our nation’s history and reinforces the struggle for equality, freedom, and unity for all Americans.

“The June Jubilee serves as a reminder to the nation that the work of Dr. King is not yet complete,” said Rev. Wendell Anthony, President NAACP, Detroit Branch. “We must not leave him on the mountain top dreaming but bring him back down into the valley where we can be seen working. This historic occasion is for all the people who believe that an injustice to anyone, any where is a threat to justice everywhere. Dr. King believed this and so do we. You may not have been there in 1963, 1993, 2003, or 2013, but you can be there in 2023 and be on the scene for freedom, civil rights, and human dignity. This is our time.”

The Detroit Branch of the NAACP has been a tireless advocate for civil rights, justice, and equality, for over a century, playing a crucial role in promoting social justice and empowering marginalized communities. Their efforts to reaffirm the mission of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to create a just and inclusive society, where every individual is treated with dignity and respect is an admirable contribution to our state.

View the full proclamation here.