Over the next dozen years the initial network grew as new services such as dial-in terminal support, remote job submission, remote printing, and file transfer were added; as gateways to the national and international Tymnet, Telenet, and Datapac networks were established, as support for the X.25 and TCP/IP protocols was added; as additional computers such as WSU's MVS system and the UM's electrical engineering's VAX running UNIX were attached; and as new universities became Merit members.

In June 1970, the Applied Dynamics Division of Reliance Electric in Saline, Michigan was contracted to build three Communication Computers or CCs.

The first completed connection linked the IBM S/360-67 mainframe computers running the Michigan Terminal System at WSU and U-M, and was publicly demonstrated on December 14, 1971.

The new system became known as the Primary Communications Processor (PCP), with the earliest PCPs connecting a PDP-10 located at WMU and a DEC VAX running UNIX at U-M's Electrical Engineering department.

The first SCP was installed at the Michigan Union in Ann Arbor, creating UMnet, which extended Merit's network connectivity deeply into the U-M campus.

[13] In 1986 Merit engineered and operated leased lines and satellite links that allowed the University of Michigan to access the supercomputing facilities at Pittsburgh, San Diego, and NCAR.

The NSFNET backbone grew to link scientists and educators on university campuses nationwide and connect them to their counterparts around the world.

In 1993 Merit's first Network Access Server (NAS) using RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) was deployed.

During their remarkably long twenty-year life cycle the number of PCPs and SCPs in service reached a high of roughly 290 in 1991, supporting a total of about 13,000 asynchronous ports and numerous LAN and WAN gateways.

At the February 1994 regional techs meeting in San Diego, the group revised its charter[21] to include a broader base of network service providers, and subsequently adopted NANOG as its new name.

This upgrade was completed in May 2009 with seven backbone nodes in Grand Rapids, East Lansing, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo, and Chicago (2) all operating at 10 Gbit/s.

In January 2010, Merit and its partners, ACD.net; Lynx Network Group, LLC;[37] and TC3Net; learned that their REACH-3MC (Rural, Education, Anchor, Community and Healthcare – Michigan Middle Mile Collaborative) proposal had been awarded ~$33.3M in grants and loans from the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), part of the federal stimulus package.

REACH-3MC will build a 1,017-mile (1,637 km) optical fiber extension into rural and underserved communities in 32 counties in Michigan's lower peninsula.

[40] On February 16, 2012, Merit's president and CEO, Donald Welch was honored as an Innovator in Infrastructure and "Champion of Change" during a ceremony that took place at the White House.

The platform was used for training exercises, including a red team-blue team event conducted with the West Michigan Cyber Security Consortium (WMCSC).

[52] In July 2014, Merit Network and WiscNet lit a new fiber-optic connection between Powers, Michigan; Marinette and Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Chicago, Illinois.

The new 10 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) fiber-optic connection replaced two 1 Gbit/s circuits, providing greater capacity and speed between the Upper Peninsula and Chicago.

Merit connected 141 community anchor institutions, which includes schools, libraries, health care, government, and public safety.

Each connection was a minimum of 1 gigabit-per-second (Gbps), providing broadband speeds to previously unserved or underserved parts of Michigan.

The position was created as part of an ongoing mission to strengthen Merit Network's infrastructure, data and Member institutions from potential cyberattack.

The secure, social portal enables Members to communicate and collaborate in real time with organic message streams, much like Facebook or Twitter.

David Behen, chief information officer (CIO) for the State of Michigan, presented an honor from Governor Rick Snyder to Joe Sawasky on behalf of Merit Network, recognizing the organization's historic achievements.

Cyber Range Hubs opened inside the Velocity Center at Macomb-Oakland University[60] in Sterling Heights on March 18 and at Pinckney Community High School[61] on December 7.

Each location provides certification courses, cybersecurity training exercises and product hardening/testing through a direct connection to the Michigan Cyber Range.

While much of this information exists in locations across the web, this unique curation was carefully designed by leading experts to serve as a comprehensive playbook for communities that are committed to improving broadband access for their citizens.

Armed with an accurate picture of Michigan's connectivity, barriers to broadband network deployment in rural communities could be reduced through a combination of techniques.

President and CEO of Merit Network Joe Sawasky moderated a panel titled “Digital Inclusion: #FixTheDamnInternet for Michigan Students.” The panel featured state, regional, and national thought leaders, including: Dr. Johannes Bauer, Quello chair for media and information policy and chairman of the department of media and information at Michigan State University, Lt.

In October 2019, Merit's president and CEO, Joe Sawasky, joined Former FCC Commissioner, Mignon Clyburn, Jonathan Sallet, senior fellow at the Benton Institute, Larra Clark, deputy director at the American Library Association Public Policy and Luis Wong, CEO of the California K-12 High Speed Network for a panel discussion, Broadband for All in the 2020s at the 2019 SHLB Coalition’s Anchor NETS conference.

The Benton Institute upholds a commitment to changing lives and advancing society through high-performance broadband connection, which will bring remarkable economic, social, cultural, and personal benefits.

Eleven teams from five countries and six states competed in an all-out, fast-paced cyber exercise that resembles the physical game of paintball.