The goal of the project is to make the mid-Michigan area more attractive to high-tech companies and businesses by providing the opportunity to tap into this high-speed connectivity — which is the first in the state.

“We’re going to start in a focused fashion, work together and frankly, let the marketplace tell us next where to grow,” Webster said.

One focus area of Gig.U connectivity is a stretch from Lansing to Meridian Township that runs through East Lansing along Michigan Avenue and Grand River Avenue, he said.

Jeff Smith, co-director of the new economy division for the Lansing Economic Area Partnership, said having connectivity to this type of broadband speed should attract companies from a variety of industries including health care, insurance, aerospace and information technology.

“Gig.U means that we can send an MRI file 100 times faster than we can currently on average speeds,” Smith said.

Graduate student Logan White said the ultra-high-speed Internet would be a worthwhile endeavor for the area if the project isn’t expensive.

White said he is in the process of starting his own business online, and he can see other businesses being drawn to the Lansing area because of the speed that Gig.U provides.

“It’d help me. It’d get me more customers — there’s a lot of different things (it could help with),” White said.

Internet service providers such as AT&T and Comcast currently are burying fiber optic cables throughout the region, with some areas already having the high speed connectivity, Webster said, adding the providers are shouldering project costs at this point.

Webster could not comment on how much the project will cost overall.

“We’re telling them we’ll help you drive demand if you locate in those areas,” Webster said.

In some areas, the fast service already is available, but there is no timeline for the project’s completion, he said.

During the press conference, MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said although the university has a small role in the Gig.U project overall, the connectivity should be beneficial in terms of recruiting and retaining talent as well as keeping MSU students in the area after graduation.

Representatives from MSU’s Academic Technology Services department could not comment on the Gig.U project Tuesday.

Simon said as connectivity expands, it will give the area an identity as a place of cutting-edge technology.

“It will advantage us because if we have a rich and vibrant community around us, it signals that the university is rich and vibrant as well,” Simon said.