Mauch moved into his Scio Township home in 2002 and was able to obtain a T1 line, which was a fast connection at the time.
His once-mighty 1.5Mbps connection fell behind the competition as broadband technology matured. Surely, an ISP would show up and wire up his house for cable or fiber, but that never happened. Mauch eventually chose a wireless ISP with speeds of around 50Mbps.
Comcast reportedly offered him $50,000 to run its cable network to his home. In 2021, Mauch told Ars Technica, “If they had priced it at $10,000, I would have written them a check.”
AT&T began advertising DSL service to Mauch’s address around 2016, but the paltry 1.5Mbps service was laughable at the time.
Mauch, out of options and dissatisfied with his 50Mbps wireless connection, decided to build his own ISP. He began about five years ago by establishing Washtenaw Fiber Properties LLC, a telephone company.
The company does not offer phone or television service, only Internet access on a case-by-case basis.
Mauch’s company recently received $2,618,958.03 in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds from the American Rescue Plan.
The contract, signed in May, calls for him to provide service to an estimated 417 addresses in his township and a few others nearby.
According to the terms of the agreement, Mauch will provide 100Mbps symmetrical Internet service with no data cap for $55 per month. For $79, another plan boosts speeds to 1Gbps with unlimited data.
Mauch told Ars that his installation fee is typically $199, and that his bills, unlike those of most major ISPs, contain a single line item for the service with no hidden fees.
Even with the government contract, it will not be easy. Mauch, like others in various industries, is already facing rising equipment costs.
According to him, fiber conduit used to cost 32 cents per foot, but it is now more than double that price. Underground handholes used to cost around $300, but Mauch now pays closer to $700.
Unsurprisingly, Mauch has become quite popular in his small town. “The world around me has gotten a lot smaller, I’ve gotten to know a lot more people,” he said, adding that he is now saved in people’s cell phones as “fiber cable guy.”
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