MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Remember that pesky dial-up noise from the past?

Well it's a sound that's all too familiar to Wayne Beyea and his family who don't have access to high-speed internet.

"Not having internet service effects every aspect of our daily life," said Wayne Beyea, an MSU faculty member and Meridian Township resident.

Wayne Beyea, his wife, and four kids live near the corner of Piper and Meridian Roads, and although internet access is readily available just a quarter mile away, it doesn't reach their home.

Currently, the Beyea family uses an outdated 3-G hotspot for internet, which only allows one to two people on the internet at a time. For some families, this wouldn't be a problem, but with four kids in school, it's an issue that effects almost every aspect of the Beyea's lives.

"It's to the point where our children in college can't come home when they want to because if they have an assignment that's due, or a lecture, they have to stay where there is high-speed internet," Beyea said.

Wayne Beyea tells HOMTV that Comcast said that if he doesn't pay up to 5,000 dollars, high-speed internet currently cannot be provided because Comcast would have to construct a new service line to reach the Meridian Township home.

Although Comcast was unable to comment on price negotiations due to privacy practices, they were able to provide this statement:

“From time to time we get requests from potential customers outside of our coverage area. Our goal is to work with the customer on an agreeable outcome, but there are significant construction costs to build out to new areas.
Sometimes it’s financially viable for us and the customer, and sometimes it’s not,” said Michelle Gilbert, the
Vice President of Public Relations for the Comcast Cable Heartland Region.

In addition, the Township's Franchise agreement with Comcast says that internet providers aren't required to serve households who need more than 150 feet of cable and that Comcast is allowed to charge a fee for additional installation.

"To say some can have this service and others cannot without an exorbitant fee is really not fair and not appropriate in this day and age," Beyea said.

Wayne says the township has been supportive in addressing this issue and hopes that an agreement can soon be negotiated.

Meridian Township's franchise agreement with Comcast expires this summer and is set to be renewed.

But Comcast isn't the only option. According to Deb Guthrie, Meridian Township's Communication Director, the township takes every household having the ability to have high speed access seriously.

"We are looking at options and what we can do. We want every home in the township to get the access they need. We don't want any student in Meridian to be disadvantaged," Guthrie said.