Farmington and Farmington Hills residents waiting for a promised citywide fiber internet network face new uncertainty after the company building it filed for bankruptcy.

SiFi Networks America filed for Chapter 11 protection June 5 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, according to court records. The Farmington Area FiberCity network was listed as "operational but still under construction" in the filing.

The roughly $70 million project, privately funded by SiFi Networks, had begun construction in the City of Farmington and was described on the city's website as bringing fiber internet to both Farmington and Farmington Hills. The network's current operational status and timeline remain unclear.

The bankruptcy complicates a broader problem across Oakland County. Despite 99.6% fixed broadband coverage and 100% mobile coverage on the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Map, about 30,000 county households lack an internet subscription, The Oakland Press reported, citing Eric Frederick, Michigan's first chief connectivity officer with the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office. U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey five-year estimates from 2024 put the number at 23,597 of the county's 524,981 households.

Cost is the main barrier.

"Affordability is the number one reason people don't adopt the internet that's running right down the road in front of their house," Frederick told The Oakland Press.

What it means for students

A 2020 study by Michigan State University's Quello Center found students without home internet spent 30 extra minutes per night on homework, carried GPAs averaging 0.37 points lower than peers with fast connections and were less likely to plan for college.

Those findings take on added weight as Michigan's 2026 M-STEP scores, released Friday, Sept. 4, showed student proficiency rates essentially flat statewide compared with 2025.

No federal lifeline

The federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provided eligible households up to $30 a month toward internet service, ended June 1, 2024, after Congress did not renew funding. More than 278,000 Michigan households had been receiving the benefit, according to The Oakland Press.

No state or federal replacement has been announced as of Sept. 6. The Michigan High-Speed Internet Office estimates about 31% of Michigan households still lack an affordable, reliable connection that meets their needs.

For Farmington-area families, the unresolved FiberCity buildout leaves the local path to expanded access uncertain while the bankruptcy case proceeds.