HomeWorks Tri-County Electric Cooperative says it has acquired the cable and fiber broadband systems of private ISP Vogtmann Engineering (VEI) in order to expand its broadband footprint across central Michigan. The migration will result in faster, cheaper Internet access for rural Michigan subscribers long stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide.

HomeWorks was founded in 1937 by farmers in Eaton, Ingham and Jackson counties to bring electricity to rural areas left behind by the big-city utilities. It’s one of the country’s 250 electrical cooperatives (out of 900) that have leveraged a century of rural electrification experience to pivot into bringing affordable Internet access to long-neglected Americans.

In 2018, the cooperative launched HomeWorks Connect, which provides Michigan locals with three tiers of fiber service: a symmetrical 250 megabit per second (Mbps) tier for $65 a month; a symmetrical 500 Mbps option for $90 a month; and a symmetrical 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) tier for $100 a month. The tiers feature no usage caps, hidden fees, or long-term contracts.

According to HomeWorks, the acquisition of VEI’s network assets includes 15 miles of cable in the neighboring villages of Nashville and Vermontville, passing just over 1,000 homes and businesses.

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Cooperative leadership says they’re just beginning the process to upgrade VEI’s coaxial cable to fiber connectivity, and integrate the existing system into its HomeWorks Connect network, which currently serves more than 14,000 homes and businesses across rural mid-Michigan.