Northern Michigan University is getting $27 million in federal funds to replace Chinese-made telecommunications equipment.
It's part of a federal plan colloquially known as the "Rip and Replace" program.
U.S. Senator Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat who chairs the Homeland Security committee, said people didn't understand the risks of buying from Chinese-owned companies.
"They came in with very low prices, trying to basically own the market," Peters said. "And many companies chose to take their equipment on, and then after that, it became apparent to us that this was actually a security risk and that people's privacy could very well be compromised, and information could be taken from these systems and then sent back to China."
Peters says in addition to better security, the funding will also expand high speed internet access to more residents in the Upper Peninsula.
Northern Michigan University makes its broadband internet available to many people in the U.P. even if they are not affiliated with the University, because of the dearth of commercial high speed internet in the northern part of the state.
"They'll be able to expand that network, and so this will make more high speed broadband available to more people across the U.P., it will be at an affordable price, and it will also be fully secure," said Peters.
