Beaver Island Michigan

Cherry Capital Connection has been appointed to the Michigan Public Service Commission - Coalition Broadband Committee and has been appointed as the Michigan Director of the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association. Both positions are focused on broadband adoption efforts. We are pleased to b...

Cherry Capital just completed a 6 community report on the effects of WI-FI on the downtown communities. This article was published in the Elk Rapids News. Thought this would be of interest. CCC continues to work towards getting WI-FI to and on the Island. Similar reports are being published for Charlevoix, Mackinaw Straights, Grayling and Suttons Bay

By - Thomas Stephenson, Director of Communications, ER-BAM

In May of 2010 a local citizens group, ER-BAM (Elk Rapids - Broadband Area Maximization), developed a public-private partnership with a local wireless provider, Cherry Capital Connection to bring a Wi-Fi network to the Elk Rapids area. After reviewing the year-end usage numbers, it has become obvious that the young network has been well accepted by both the citizens and visitors of Elk Rapids, prompting ER-BAM to declare that the initial phase a success, thus warranting further investment and expansion. As stated by ER-BAMâ??s president, Barb Mullaly, â??This is one step closer to becoming a â??wiredâ?? community.â?￾
Thirteen Wi-Fi â??Hot Spotsâ?? were installed in and around the village area under the guidance of ER-BAM and Cherry Capital Connectionâ??s General Manager Tim Maylone. These â??Hot Spotsâ?? are specific designated areas that allow the local citizens and visitors to log onto the Internet with the first thirty minutes complementary â?? â??free of chargeâ?￾, and then if the user wishes to continue they can simply use a credit card to remain on the Internet. In addition, a pre-paid plan is also being offered for those individuals who prefer not to pay by credit card. The â??Hot Spotâ?? located at the Elk Rapids library has a program where the first four hours are complementary â?? â??free of charge.â?￾
With total numbers supplied by Cherry Capital Connection and the Elk Rapids Library, in the year 2010, individuals used the new ER â??Hot Spotsâ?? Wi-Fi network to log onto the Internet 16,225 times, with 5,219 of that tally being recorded at the Elk Rapids Library. In addition, it is estimated that users logged on to the Internet an additional 5,127 to 12,817 times opting only to use the complementary â?? â??free of chargeâ?￾ option. In response to this success ER-BAM, in concurrence with Cherry Capital Connection will be rolling out a multi tier program that promotes the Elk Rapids Wi-Fi network. According to Barb Mullaly, â??We plan on rolling out the campaign late spring/early summer.â?￾ Tim Maylone added, â??Cherry Capital Connection will be adding a community page to our hotspot product which will allow the community to target local messages for promotion.â?￾
A primary goal of ER-BAM is to develop a successful municipal Wi-Fi network that will help Elk Rapids participate in the â??new economyâ?? taking one more step towards an idea location to live, do business, and visit. Having a free and fast wireless system will assist in the economic development of the Elk Rapids community by attracting investments, facilitating a mobile working environment and supporting Elk Rapids café culture. Consumers and visitors alike are increasingly expecting to find Wi-Fi available wherever they go; they like to use their laptops, iPhones, and other devices in public and are always delighted when they stumble upon a wireless hot spot. The existence of a Wi-Fi network will help in making Elk Rapids a more desirable place to spend time, and an obvious inherent benefit of increasing desirability is increasing foot traffic thru the retail shops, restaurants, cafes, etc, helping the overall economic development of Elk Rapids. The members of ER-BAM are pleased by this progress of the young Wi-Fi network as it helps the organization achieve some of itsâ?? goals of utilizing broadband to its maximum potential, creating innovative economic wealth building opportunities for the community, while preserving the character and pristine environment of the Elk Rapids region. If you would like to join in the efforts of ER-BAM, a band of broad thinkers, please visit our web site at www.er-bam.net

If you have good broadband that it is suggested you contact your cell phone provider and request a micro cell. This technology plugs into your broadband and provide increased cell phone service for your registered phones Although Cherry Capital Connection does not sell these units many of our custom...

competition is good but must be real to generate long term results. we encourage full island wifi to create a dynamic environment for new economic development. we continue with our round 2 efforts and are positioned to bring high speed wifi to beaver island. cell phone over broadband, most phones ut...

Communities in the CCC service region are incorporating wi-fi into their economic strategy. Example: There is a new ad campaign for Elk Rapids called ER your turn. It will feature complementary wi-fi and a multiple media presentation similar to mackinaclive.com. Wi-Fi, Hotspots and elkrapidslive.com...

CCC would like to Thank the many people from Beaver Island that assisted us in developing a grant application during the round 1 ARRA application process. Although the application was not successful it clearly defined that there is a need for competition on the Island. We disagree with the reasons t...

There is a delay in ARRA funding decisions until Dec 2009

correct letter wrong governor mentioned as your headline. I believe it is Granholm or is this an inside joke

There are still challenges by incumbents to address and an ARRA BIP/BTOP due diligence process that needs to occur so the process is not yet done but it moves at the pace set by government. Your Island Leadership team is a great reflection of the Island and yes you should be proud of the work they h...

The application has included dollars for helping the client side (CPE) of the installation. The final CPE installation offering has not been determined. Under CCC current customer base the installation has two components labor $99 and hardware ($375). Under the BI project we anticipate buying in hig...

Beaver Island Broadband Project made the Governors list of recommended applications. Just another step in the evaluation process. The gobvernor had the opportunity to weigh in on BTOP applications. Beaver island was a BIP/BTOP application. Other were just BIP (USDA) and the governors does not have i...

The application process was performed by multiple groups. I do not remember the rational behind the line backer. Some things were included in the application to establish or respond to industry accepted norms. In the eight year history of CCC we have never imposed GB limits. We have always had a sha...

To keep this thread on topic The application is a shovel ready project. As noted this may be premature. If so then no one will respond. If not then it would be nice to quantify the consumer possibilities and answer any question specific to the service that this application if accepted will provide. ...

Attachment A - Proposed Last Mile Service Offerings I assume this will help This is the data per the application. What is delivered must meet this base or better in support of sustainability Name of Tier Advertised Speeds Average Speeds Average Latency (BTOP only) Pricing Plan $ per month Downstream...

Please spell out FAP/AUP/TOS.
AUP is assume: Acceptable Use Policy
I will create a web page for these terms that all can reference.
I do not want to assume what you are looking for

we use google earth for many steps.
will look into setting up a common google earth page for the project