News
Broadband is among the utilities being celebrated during Infrastructure Week 2024, which has been presented by United For Infrastructure for over a decade.
By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
Infrastructure Week 2024, presented by United For Infrastructure (UFI), a project of the non-profit known as Accelerator for America Action, is now underway with events showcasing major infrastructure projects and an aim to promote dialogue among policymakers.
This year, the annual event will focus on public infrastructure events supported and funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which includes more than $42 billion in appropiations for broadband spending.
According to UFI’s website, organizations are invited to participate in Infrastructure Week 2024 “in whatever way makes sense for them.”
“Some folks host an event, panel discussion or roundtable, ribbon cutting or groundbreaking,” UFI’s website stated. “Organizations release reports, new videos, write op-eds, post on social media, or even organize fly-ins to meet their representatives at their state capitol or in Washington, DC.”
In actuality, the events for Infrastructure Week 2024 will run beyond the week of May 13-17, with events like the Peninsula Fiber Network Community Broadband Luncheon, scheduled for May 21 at The Mendel Center at Lake Michigan College.
That event, in Benton Harbor, Michigan, will include businesses, community anchor institutions, and government stakeholders, according to UFI’s website. The topic at hand will be the Peninsula Fiber Network’s $87 million middle-mile broadband project to be completed with National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) funding.
That project, which will include constructing approximately 535 miles of middle mile fiber to connect Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with peering points in Chicago, will create a redundant path for Western Michigan. According to the NTIA’s website, the project will “bring middle mile infrastructure into rural counties serving over 35,000 homes in need of broadband internet connectivity.”
At the May 21 luncheon, the Peninsula Fiber Network, a carrier that provides broadband services, and 123NET, a Michigan-based internet service provider, will explain how the project will positively impact Michigan communities, a summary of the event stated.
The presenter of Infrastructure Week 2024, UFI, is a project of Accelerator for America Action, a 501(c)4 non-profit organization that promotes awareness about the importance of infrastructure investment.
“As the organizers of Infrastructure Week and serving as the leading advocate for federal investment in infrastructure for a decade, United for Infrastructure has shifted its focus toward the successful implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” the organization’s website stated.
Organizations interested in participating in the event can submit a relevant event on the Accelerator for America Action website with no fee for entry.