Совет директоров Северного университета Мичигана одобрил продажу сети широкополосного доступа за 21 млн долларов

NMU Board of Trustees approves sale of EAS broadband service for $21M MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - Northern Michigan University’s Board of Trustees approved the sale of its Educational Access Network’s broadband service and infrastructure. Michigan Broadband Services is buying the network for $21 million. They will pay $19 million for the assets, radios, equipment and software, with an additional $2 million for the NMU owned towers. The deal will be finalized following approval from the Federal Communications Commission. Gavin Leach, NMU’s vice president for finance and administration, says that there were many inquiries from providers to buy the network, and that the board had decided that MBS’s pitch would fit most with their continued goal to serve rural communities throughout the Upper Peninsula. “MBS has access to a lot of federal resources as well as private equity that we don’t have access to, and they’re going to use those resources to expand the network. They’re going to use it to upgrade to 5G, and they’re going to use it to run it the way we have run it over the years,” Leach said. He also assured customers that they shouldn’t expect any changes to their services, as NMU will continue to operate the network for the next calendar year. “Customers in the interim shouldn’t see any change to who they talk to, to how they acquire the service, and they won’t have to change out any equipment,” Leach said. “It will be as seamless as possible for the customers.” The EAN grew to serve 115 communities across the U.P. in just over a decade. They are now looking to provide better and further reaching coverage to those communities and more. “I think everyone should see this as a great opportunity, both for Northern, and our customers,” said NMU President Chris Olsen. University officials emphasize that NMU students and staff will continue to receive free internet access through the transition, and customer rates will also not see any immediate changes. The video above will feature the TV6 livestream until staff can clip the corresponding story, if available, from broadcasts or other TV6 content. You can subscribe to our YouTube page or download TV6+ to stream the latest local news and weather. Copyright 2026 WLUC. All rights reserved.