The Leelanau Internet Futures Team (LIFT) has shared the latest progress report on the rollout of a new fiber internet network in Leelanau County.

In an email update sent Tuesday afternoon, LIFT reported that Point Broadband, the county’s fiber optic partner, has built out a fiber network that is now “available for 1,804 addresses” throughout Leelanau. 840 of those addresses had been “identified by the county as unserved” prior to the start of the Point Broadband project.

Point Broadband connected its first fiber customer in Leelanau County back in late August.

Point Broadband is expected to continue building out its fiber network throughout the fall. Per LIFT, about one-third of the buildout should be completed by the end of October, “encompassing portions of Elmwood, Solon, Centerville, Kasson, and Leland townships.” The pictured map “delineates where service is currently available and the geography where orders are being taken and connections established.”

Locals can check availability and pricing for fiber service by visiting the Point Broadband website, and can place orders to set up service here. Service availability can also be tracked using the county’s broadband coverage map tool.

Point Broadband also recently shared pricing tiers for service at the September 19 meeting of the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners. Those tiers are as follows.

·        $79 per month for 1 gigabit (1,000 Mbps) download and 1 gigabit upload speed.

·        $69 per month for 500 Mbps download and 500 Mbps upload speed.

·        $59 per month for 300 Mbps download and 300 Mbps upload speed.

LIFT also reported in its latest update that construction is expected to begin this month on a new county-owned communications town in Leelanau Township. “Cherryland Electric Cooperative and Leelanau Township are partnering with the county and making six-figure financial contributions to bring the county’s northern-most tower into service,” the LIFT email noted. The tower is intended to help improve some of the county's issues with cellular service.