123NET Secures $86 Million BEAD Grant to Expand Michigan Fiber Network

123NET, a Michigan-based provider of fiber internet, colocation and voice services, has been awarded approximately $86 million through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program to fund fiber-optic construction across underserved Michigan communities, the company said in an announcement on October 28, 2026.

The company is working with the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office on the projects. BEAD is administered nationally by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, with MIHI implementing the program in Michigan. 123NET collaborated with municipalities and community partners across the state to apply for the funding, which the company said will deliver connectivity to 17,000 BEAD-funded addresses as part of a total network expansion reaching 49,300 addresses.

The projects involve building 1,700 miles of fiber network in Allegan, Barry, Calhoun, Eaton, Jackson, Kent, Kalamazoo, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Ottawa and Washtenaw counties, according to the company.

Michigan’s BEAD Program

The company’s award follows the state’s October 19, 2026 announcement that 23 subgrantees, including 123NET, had officially signed BEAD agreements. The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity said Michigan’s BEAD program is investing $916 million in federal funds, with subgrantees investing an additional $531 million in private matching funds, to connect nearly 200,000 homes, businesses and community anchor institutions. With contracts signed, subgrantees can complete pre-construction requirements such as permitting and prepare for construction, the department said, and once grant agreements are executed, subgrantees have four years to complete their projects. MIHI anticipates five additional provisionally selected subgrantees will execute grant agreements soon.

Michigan’s BEAD allocation is $1.559 billion, the fourth-highest in the country, according to MIHI’s BEAD program page. The office ran BEAD as a competitive grant program in which applicants proposed projects to connect unserved and underserved locations identified through a state challenge process. MIHI defines a location as unserved if it lacks an available internet connection of at least 25/3 Mbps from cable, fiber or licensed fixed wireless technology, and, based on FCC data, estimates that approximately 370,000 Michigan homes and businesses meet that definition. Underserved locations, those with service of at least 25/3 Mbps but less than 100/20 Mbps, number approximately 125,000, the office estimates.

In a December 2, 2025 announcement, the state said it had received $920 million in federal BEAD funds paired with $550 million in private matching funds, a combined $1.47 billion investment. Michigan has the third-highest number of BEAD-eligible locations in the nation, the state said, and the program will deploy more than 31,000 miles of fiber-optic infrastructure over four years to connect nearly 200,000 homes, businesses and institutions.

Statements From 123NET and State Officials

“123NET is working alongside Michigan’s public and private sectors to be part of the solution to combat the social, financial and geographic inequities that contribute to the digital divide,” Chief Executive Officer Ken Fitzpatrick said in the company’s announcement. He said the BEAD program and the funding it provides will create long-term, sustainable infrastructure for the digital services Michigan residents need.

Chief Technology and Information Officer Chuck Irvin said expanding fiber to underserved communities creates benefits ranging from small business owners competing in a digital economy to students gaining access to resources, and said the company was proud to be part of delivering that promise to Michigan.

“MIHI is excited for the opportunity to expand broadband access throughout the state,” Eric Frederick, the state’s Chief Connectivity Officer, said in the release. In the state’s October 19 announcement, Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Director Susan Corbin said the signed agreements bring more Michigan communities closer to reliable high-speed internet and the opportunities it provides.

123NET said it owns and operates its entire network and described itself as the operator of Michigan’s largest fiber network. Earlier in 2026, the company completed a fiber network expansion in Allegan County funded through the state’s Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks (ROBIN) grant program, and the company said thousands of county residents now have access to its service. The state said in December 2025 that the ROBIN program had already connected more than 33,000 homes and businesses and would connect an additional 50,000 in 2026.

The BEAD-funded projects are scheduled to begin in early 2027, according to the company, and residents in the affected communities can sign up with 123NET for notifications when service becomes available.