Merit Network

Merit, a nonprofit governed by Michigan's public universities, owns & operates the longest-running regional education network.

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

What happens when broadband planning becomes a game?🎲

@michiganstateu researchers are using collaborative gameplay to help communities tackle real connectivity challenges — as part of our Project Compass work.

Read more: https://t.co/OVcc5qH0Zm

#ProjectCompass

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

60 years in four slides.🌠

One mission that's never changed: connect the people and institutions that depend on us.

Here's to the next 60. 🎉

#Merit60 #MeritNetwork

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

60 years of connecting Michigan — and helping shape the Internet along the way. Here's to the people who built it. #Merit60 #MeritNetwork #InternetHistory

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

In 1966, Merit started inside a single university building.

By 1982, it had developed its own dedicated network hardware.

By 1988, it was becoming the home of the NSFNET backbone.

Same mission. Bigger room. Bigger stakes. 60 years later, still going. 🖥️

#MeritNetwork #Merit60

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

5 Facts about Merit Network:

🕛 First connection: 12:20 a.m., Dec. 14, 1971
💰 Budget to build it: $800,000
👻 "Which Host?" → "Witch Ghost" every Halloween
📈 NSFNET traffic grew nearly 1,000x
🌍 Internet: 3 countries to 93

60 years of connecting Michigan. #MeritNetwork

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

In 1987, Merit & partners won the NSF contract to manage the NSFNET — the catalyst for the modern internet.

Behind it: Aupperle, Braun, Rubens, Husak, Hares, Katz, Gerich, Morgan, Cheng & many more.

The internet didn't build itself. 🖥️

#ThrowbackThursday #MeritNetwork

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

#MMC2026 is in the books. 📖

Two days. Five keynotes. Hundreds of conversations.

None of it happens without our speakers, sponsors, Members, partners, and the Merit team working behind the scenes. Thank you all. See you next year. 💙

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

#MMC26 is wrapped at the Dearborn Inn — and today delivered.

Brittany Affolter-Caine on collaborative innovation. Princess Castleberry closing with The Truth Is in the Trigger™. Plus a full day of breakouts on AI, fiber, cybersecurity, and more.

#Merit60 #MeritNetwork

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

MMC 2026 is live at the Dearborn Inn — two days of Internet, Innovation, and Impact.

Today: Merit's ELT on 60 years of internet history, Ned Staebler on universities as economic engines, and a Member panel on real-world impact across Michigan.

Thank you to our sponsors #MMC2026

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

A quiet success. We'll take it.

Doug Dawson of CCG Consulting featured Merit in POTs and PANs for our 60th — from three mainframes in 1971 to 1M K-12 students today.

Sixty years of showing up. We're just getting started. 📖 https://t.co/HYppHUgWTO

#Merit60

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

Behind every lecture streamed and every research breakthrough shared — there's a network making it possible.

Merit members aren't just connected. They're part of something bigger. 💙

https://t.co/AwwDTOrJ0g

#MeritMonday #Michigan #EdTech #HigherEd #Research

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

Today is the last day to register for this year’s MMC!
Don't miss out on our exciting lineup and networking opportunities!

Register now: https://t.co/vsK61fEPW8

Details:
🗓️ 5/12–5/13, 2026
📍 Dearborn Inn

#InternetInnovationImpact #60YearsofMerit #Merit60 #MMC26 #MeritNetwork

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

Free cybersecurity intel? It exists. 🔒

📌 CISA Advisories → https://t.co/oZO8Kc8GsI

📌 MS-ISAC → https://t.co/EH9a7OchHO

📌 SANS ISC (daily podcast) → https://t.co/pjEC0fR5Ws

Stay informed. Stay protected.
#WatchOutWednesday #CyberSecurity #InfoSec

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

Merit CEO Roger Blake joins Jean Hardy as a keynote speaker at the 2026 Small Town & Rural Development Conference, June 1–3 at Crystal Mountain Resort — exploring what rural leaders need to know about data centers.

🔗 https://t.co/HfNG3LlSkv

#RuralMichigan #DataCenters

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

Register for MMC before April 30!

Here are three great reasons to join us at the Dearborn Inn this May:

1️⃣ Inspiring Keynotes
2️⃣ Expert-Led Sessions
3️⃣ Industry Connections

Register now: https://t.co/TGMgsrJ01Y

🗓️ 5/12–5/13, 2026
📍 Dearborn Inn

#MMC26 #Merit60 #MeritNetwork

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

The internet has a footprint. Now we know ours. 👣🌎

@UMich master's students built a first-of-its-kind GHG inventory of Merit's fiber network and data centers — from construction to disposal. As Michigan's grid decarbonizes, our emissions drop.

🔗 https://t.co/pcEy2aku7d

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

@CityofDetroit @waynestate

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

Proud to be recognized by the Detroit Housing Commission alongside DigitalC for bringing free internet + digital education to Detroit residents. This is what community partnership looks like. 🏘️ #Connect313 #ProjectCanopy #MichiganMoonshot

https://t.co/XGo7Pw181X

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

Chips keeping satellites alive can't fail. @michiganstateu just opened a facility to make sure they don't. FRIB's K500 tests microelectronics against decades of cosmic radiation — in minutes. Proud to connect these researchers. 🛰️

🔗 https://t.co/5OGx9psnAJ

#TechThursday #FRIB

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

Register for MMC before April 30th!

Ned Staebler, CEO of TechTown and VP for Economic Development at @waynestate, will deliver the midday keyote on 5/12!

https://t.co/YIBLuhXY3R

🗓️ 5/12-5/13, 2026
📍 Dearborn Inn

#60YearsofMerit #Merit60 #MMC26 #MeritNetwork