Two Michigan State University professors are helping to bridge the digital divide for more than 28,000 Michigan households.
Johannes M. Bauer, professor of media and information in MSU’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences, and Keith Hampton, interim director of the MSU Quello Center, which conducts research to advance the political, social and economic potential of the internet and related technologies and services, worked with MSU IT and Merit Network to complete Project MOON-Light, a multimillion-dollar initiative to expand broadband infrastructure across the state of Michigan. The project is funded by a grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
“Project MOON-Light is a massive upgrade to the internet infrastructure of the state of Michigan,” said Bauer. “It will enable local internet service providers to provide better, more reliable and cheaper service to unserved and underserved households and businesses. It will have ripple effects economically and socially for years to come.”
The MOON-Light network offers regional broadband connectivity through an open-access network available to multiple providers. This differs from private, or closed, infrastructure systems that offer services through a single provider.
Merit Network CEO Roger Blake called it “a transformational project.”
“The MOON-Light initiative is a foundational asset and a true force-multiplier for upcoming internet service provider last-mile projects,” Blake said. “We are privileged to partner with Michigan State University and the MSU Quello Center and last-mile network operator partners on this initiative that is one of the first-of-its-kind in the nation and now connects over 28,000 previously unserved households.”
Hampton says the project will help eliminate disparities in academic achievement associated with inequalities in broadband access.
“All Michiganders will now have more opportunity to fully participate in the education system, engage with their communities and to pursue new paths to economic opportunity,” Hampton said.
“Closing the digital divide is essential to the future success of our state and our young people,” MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., said. “When we partner together to solve our state’s most pressing challenges, we create a place that is full of opportunity — for all people and businesses. This partnership is a prime example of MSU’s proud role as a land-grant university.”
Learn more information about MOON-Light.
