TOWNSHIPS ASK ISLANDERS TO COMPLETE BROADBAND SURVEY

[St. James Township]

ST JAMES & PEAINE TWPS ARE APPLYING FOR FEDERAL BROADBAND GRANT. If you live on the Island (year-round or seasonal) or run a business on the Island, you can help the application process by completing a survey. Just go to either of the township's websites and click on the BROADBAND SURVEYS LINK. Make sure you also complete the Speed Test. Please complete as soon as possible.

The townships are applying to the US Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Infrastructure Program. With our partner, Great Lakes Energy, Beaver Island is applying for a multi-million-dollar grant to build an island wide fiber to the home (FTTH) network and a fiber backhaul to the mainland. This is an ambitious and essential grant proposal which, if successful, will prepare the Beaver Island community to fully engage in the modern world. The grant deadline is August 17th and award announcements will be made in November 2021.

http://www.stjamestwp.org/broadband_surveys.php

http://www.peainetwp.org/

[KateL]

Thanks for putting this survey together!

[Walleyeguy]

I went to speedtest.net & ran it. It showed results (40 ping, 4.67mbps download, 0.31mbps up) significantly faster than what I previously scored when I would call TDS to complain abt slow internet. TDS would have me run their diagnostic, www.speedtest.tds.net (30 ping, 1.9mbps download, 0.4mbps up). I reviewed the speedtest.net results & noticed that the test defaulted to 186networks Traverse City, MI. Is this correct & why are we using a diagnostic that produces faster results than the diagnostic that TDS actually references to evaluate their network speed? Thank you.

[Bob Sramek]

Your speed will vary depending on how many others are using the internet, time of day etc.
Try taking it at different times of the day and you will see the variance.

[St. James Township]

Reminder to Complete Survey for Broadband Internet Grant Application

According to our grant coordinator: “As of July 21, we have 176 home surveys, 44 speed tests and 6 business surveys. These are still good numbers but we’d love more! The business surveys are always the hardest to get responses to, but whatever you can do to encourage folks to take the survey it would help us get a higher percentage.”

Thanks to all who have completed the surveys. For those who have not – Please do so soon. We would like to have the surveys completed by July 30, 2021.

http://www.stjamestwp.org/broadband_surveys.php

http://www.peainetwp.org/

PS - The grant coordinator notes that Speedtest.net is nationally recognized as the best speed test. The difference between the two tests is likely that Speedtest.net found a local server in Traverse City while TDS might ship the test further to Wisconsin.