(Credit: Rafe Swan/Getty Images)
Internet users in the US don’t often have many choices in service providers. You’re usually stuck with the company that owns the cable lines in your area. A lucky few might also have access to fiber, but that was not the case in Michigan’s rural Scio Township. Comcast told Jared Mauch he would have to front $50,000 to get service to his address, so he started his own ISP. Now, he’s planning to expand the service to hundreds of new homes, offering high-speed internet for much less than Comcast, even if it did offer services in the area.
Mauch’s ISP, known as Washtenaw Fiber Properties LLC, currently provides fiber internet to about 70 homes, but the company is getting ready to expand thanks to $2.6 million in coronavirus recovery funds from the American Rescue Plan. That legislation provided Washtenaw County with a total of $71 million for infrastructure projects. The country conducted a study of underserved areas and sought proposals from contractors that could install new connectivity. Washtenaw Fiber is one of four companies that won bids.
The agreement signed with the county calls on Mauch to expand his tiny service bubble to at least 417 addresses in Freedom, Lima, Lodi, and Scio townships. However, Mauch expects that his fiber routes will pass 596 potential customers, some of which are covered by other grants. However, he believes he could be the first to lay new fiber, and that could net Washtenaw Fiber more subscribers. The contract requires that all expansions be completed by 2026, with all expenses incurred by the end of 2024. According to Ars Technica, Mauch plans to be done with the project by the end of 2023.
Under the terms of the county contract, Washtenaw Fiber will provide symmetrical up/down 100Mbps service, and it’ll only charge $55 per month. For gigabit, the fee will only go up to $79 per month. Although installation usually costs about $200, the service is unlimited. Comcast makes users pay an extra $50 per month to remove data caps, and its gigabit service usually has much slower uploads.
Unfortunately, most people can’t just spin up their own ISP when the big guys can’t be bothered. During the day, Mauch is a network architect for Akamai, an important CDN provider. He’s managed to get a small staff to help handle emergencies in order to keep his 70 current subscribers online even if he’s unavailable. Though, it might be a lot more work as his subscriber base grows into the hundreds.
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