LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — After years of buffering, Michigan’s long-stalled broadband rollout is finally moving forward.

The Michigan High-Speed Internet Office has filed a new plan that clears the way to spend the state’s $1.5 billion share of federal broadband funds. The proposal drops many of the costly mandates that delayed the project—including rules on wage rates, construction materials, and climate change assessments.

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The broadband program, funded through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, was meant to connect rural and small-town areas. Four years later, not a single Michigan household has been connected under the plan, and officials admit the first hookups won’t happen until 2026, according to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

The new “Final Proposal” takes what it calls a “technology-neutral approach,” opening eligibility to fiber, wireless, cable, and satellite providers. It also replaces wage mandates with a simple requirement to follow existing federal labor law.

Notably, private companies have already filled much of the gap: since 2022, the number of unserved Michigan locations has dropped 14% without government help.