BEAVER ISLAND, MI – Technicians recently installed roadside fiber optic cables on Beaver Island as the remote community in the middle of Lake Michigan prepares for future broadband internet access.

In recent weeks, utility workers for Merit Network bored the underground pathways and buried fiber conduit alongside roadways on Beaver Island. The fiber network connects key facilities on the island, including the community’s K-12 school, library, health center, and several sites owned by Central Michigan University.

The newly installed fiber is expected to improve internet connectivity for the facilities on the system, which will link to a microwave tower in the Upper Peninsula via a tower on the island. Internet speeds on the island are currently much slower than on the mainland .

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