EAGLE RIVER - Residents in Keweenaw County without available Internet may soon get service, if everything goes according to plan.

Charlie Hopper with Pasty.net Inc., approached the Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners Wednesday evening to update the board about broadband access to unserved and underserved communities.

According to Pasty.net, the federal government has appropriated $7.2 billion to expand broadband access across the United States, which would impart service, increase jobs, provide long-term economic benefits and spur investments in technology and infrastructure.

A letter of support for the broadband stimulus grant request has been submitted from the county board in hopes to bring wider broadband service to the Keweenaw. The Economic Development Committee also submitted a letter of support, as did the Marquette County Board of Commissioners, Hopper said.

"If we are successful, we're going to be adding new services and covering new areas," Hopper said.

There has never been broadband coverage around Lake Medora and they intend to add service elsewhere as well.

"Most importantly, for everyone who's on the system, a great deal of increase in speed and reliability (will occur) because of the equipment that would be made available under the grant funding," he said.

New services such as telephone, movie downloads and television delivery by way of the Internet will be added.

The grant request will be submitted today and Pasty.net Inc. will know by mid-September whether it was successful in its efforts.

"They want shovel-ready projects and ours is shovel-ready, just to re-fit our existing system and expand on that," he said. "We will continue to provide the services for the courthouse, the sheriff, the (Keweenaw) Mountain Lodge and hopefully with much more reliability and a lot more speed."

According to the Web site, Pasty.net has been serving wireless Internet access to residents in the remote areas of Keweenaw and Houghton counties. To be considered "broadband," speeds need to be brought up to 768 kilobits. In order to upgrade, Pasty.net would need to purchase and install new equipment, which is what it plans to do if granted the stimulus money.

"There's so much we owe the county for providing us a platform to bring this service," Hopper said.

The proposed plan includes two towers - one, near Copper Falls, is a new tower that would provide additional height and the other would be near Bumbletown, looking down to Sedar Bay, Hopper said.

"From both directions, we'll hit 5-mile Point," he said. "Our goal is to provide coverage at every location."

Under the grant, satellite service will be funded to those who cannot be reached. Over a period of two years, 75 percent of residents will be connected and over the third year, the final 25 percent will be connected, he added.

In other news, the board:

heard from Donald B. Keith of District 2 about the first wind turbine which will be erected on residential property in Bumbletown.

voted to give a gift up to $2,600 to the non-profit ATV Club for trail development.

established the Keweenaw County Committee for the Administration County Department of Veteran Affairs.

Stacey Ashcraft can be reached at sashcraft @mininggazette.com.