Residents of one local township will be getting broadband connection sooner than expected.
Oronoko Charter Township Supervisor Mike Hildebrand informed board members Tuesday that Midwest Energy & Communications (MEC) is just weeks away from completing its broadband installation in the township, and resident hookups could begin early 2023.
A map of the buildout showed about 98 percent of the roughly 27 miles of fiber optic broadband network is buried underground.
“When wind blows, we’re still going to have internet,” Hildebrand said. “Their estimated completion of the main line construction is end of year 2022. If the weather holds out and the snow doesn’t get too deep, they would like to start connecting homes in the first quarter of 2023. … That’s exciting.”
According to a Berrien County survey done in 2021, just 34 percent of Oronoko Township houses previously did not have access to broadband.
