ANN ARBOR – Merit Network announced Thursday the addition of Jim Lundberg to the Merit staff as the Upper Peninsula Member Relations Manager.

Lundberg recently retired from Bay de Noc Community College where he spent 30 years, including the last fifteen years as the Director of Technical Services, ITS.

“I am just absolutely thrilled and honored to join Merit,? he said. ?I see the REACH-3MC project as a very important project for the economic future of the Upper Peninsula. As an educator, over the years I have seen that our biggest export from the UP, has been our young people. They graduate from High School, go to college and get a degree and must leave the UP as there are relatively few high tech jobs. I see the REACH-3MC project as being essential for attracting high-tech businesses to the UP. We have such a great quality of life in the UP and a low cost of living, all of this makes the UP a great place to locate a business.”

Merit Network is building a 2,297 mile fiber-optic network throughout the state of Michigan with the assistance of two American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Broadband Technology Opportunities Program grants in the amount of $102 million along with a 20 percent match in funds from Merit and its sub-recipients. The REACH-3MC project is one of the largest BTOP projects in the country and is expected to serve 52 counties in both the Upper and Lower Peninsula’s.

“The economic development opportunity that this infrastructure brings to the area is significant,? said Elwood Downing, VP of Member Relations, Communications, and Services. ?Merit is happy to have Jim Lundberg join the Merit team to assist organizations in the Upper Peninsula in taking advantage of this important infrastructure.?

Merit has long held a presence in the Upper Peninsula and provides connectivity to Northern Michigan University, Michigan Technological University and Lake Superior State University, which are all governing Members of Merit. Merit currently connects all of the Independent School Districts (ISD) in the Upper Peninsula with the exception of the Menominee ISD.

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