Beaver Island Michigan

ISLAND INTERNET AND TELEPHONE ISSUES

As many may know the island is suffering a shortage of internet portals for new subscribers. Also, internet speed in the outlying areas of the island are painfully slow. The local provider, TDS surely has been provided grant money over recent years to upgrade the system. They have as much as admitted it in public releases. That said, it is time to get them off their office chairs and into the process. As many as 200 people have moved here in the last year and it has created a significant bottleneck, especially in internet service, which, as we all know tends to slow the system down when it is under heavy use.

People have registered their "anger" on Facebook and or the Beaver Island Forum. That does little good. Why would TDS bother to read the Forum or Facebook? Your complaints need to go to the appropriate authority, The MICHIGAN PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION (MPSC)! Be polite but be firm in stating your issue and ask them to investigate TDS funding and promises! TDS is the 6th largest telecom company by their own admission in the United States and yet their Island service is lacking in upgrades. Certainly we are glad to have service, period, but it is felt that the monies they accept should be put to use and bring upgrades the Island sorely needs.

To contact MPSC here is a link: https://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/0,9535,7- ... --,00.html

Otherwise here are phone or email addresses that can be contacted:
FILING INFORMAL COMPLAINTS

File your complaint by:

FILE A COMPLAINT BY WEB


Call your Gas, Electric, Video/Cable or Telephone complaints in at:
1-800-292-9555


Mail your complaints to the MPSC at:

MPSC Customer Assistance
P.O. Box 30221
Lansing, MI 48909

Together we can accomplish things! Here is TDS contact information:

These companies have registered with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) per Commission Order U-11900 and Sec. 211a of the Michigan Telecommunications Act (MTA)
<< Back to Registered Companies

Company Contact: Island Telephone Company
343 W Saginaw Rd
Sanford, Michigan 48657, United States
Phone: (989) 687-1111
Fax:
Email: jean.pauk@tdstelecom.com
Website:

Customer Contact: Billie Jo Rusk-Handl
129 S. Main Street
Perry, Michigan 48872, United States
Phone: (517) 625-2641
Fax:
Email: billiejo.ruskhandl@tdstelecom.com

DBA: TDS Telecom/Island Telephone Company (MI)
Registered as: Broadband: DSL
Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC)

Thank you for posting this. I just sent an email to the customer service contact.
I would also encourage folks to contact their Michigan rep and senator. Also alert our Governor.
Keep up the polite pressure!

I personally have had it with TDS... The reason they don''t do anything is because they don't have to "THEY ARE A MONOPOLY". All we've gotten (and will get) are excuses. I'm sure everyone here has complained about this. What's the definition of "NUTS"...??? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a differant result.

They've chosen to ignore the regulations / laws, governing companies refusal to adress these issues... Wanna get some action...??? I figure there are three viable options:

• Do nothing and continue complaining

• Start a petition and post it at a known location in town for everyone to sign. Then send it to TDS, with the statement that if they continue to refuse to adress this issue, the Island will have no alternative but to go to the government and ask for them to to so.

• Or, number three (which is the one I've chosen) wake up and go to this link: https://www.starlink.com/ and sign up now, so as to leave TDS in the swamp they allow in.

Times are moving on, and tecghnology is moving ahead faster than most realize. Before you know it, companies like TDS will find their customer base dropping like flies and them wishing they had treated their customers like human beings... Instead of stupid human beings / dollars they can steal.

Why wait on TDS? Since everyone on the island is already a member of Great Lakes Energy (a cooperative, customer owned/not for profit) I'm suprised that Truestream, a far superior fiber technology, hasn't been mentioned. Truestream will offer both voice & internet. Their BASE internet plan offers 100mbps service for $60/month & up to 1,000mbps for $100/month. My current TDS service is a pathetic 3.58mbps download & 0.41mbps upload for $70! Truestream is operational in Petoskey/Crossvillage. However, on Bi they are "gathering interest & exploration". I would encourage everyone to register with Truestream so they can more accurately gauge demand for the service (link below). Simply click on link https://www.truestreamfiber.com/status-map/ & when you see the map enter your address & register. A bonus of registering is Truestream will waive the $149 installation fee when it's operational.

Since it appears that BI is down the list for Truestream installation, I would encourage folks to contact their GLE board representative, Mark Carson & convey our desire for service now! His email is: mcarson@glenergy.com

There no reason the most remote area, with the worst internet in the state of Michigan, should be last on the list for installation.

Squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Check this out! Where is the money going??

Finally, some progress!

Just a point, do we really want awesome internet? Granted, this is a personal opinion of my wife, kids and I, but do we really need fast internet? Really?

We (my household) work online, did school online (3 kids all on zoom, with me on zoom as well), and do fine. Must be patient, but fine none the less.

The way I figure, better internet = more remote workers = more people coming up from cities and suburbs = more infrastructure needs = more growth (associations, crime, taxes, , ordinances, government…just more more more)

Kind of what we are trying to avoid, ruining this island…I’d hate to see great internet being yet another catalyst…to live here is to live without all the so called comforts of the mainland…that makes this more minimalist and as a result, special.

The world is running out of good and safe places to exist and raise a family (we are already feeling like our children are not as safe as they were before this massive influx, that should hit home).

Reasonable and reclusive people are running out of places to simply…live and live fulfilled, and happy without all the crap demanded by the rest of the rat race world.

Lets not overdevelop this one. The “simple life” should be the goal here. Self sustainability, self governance, and community…not growth, more infrastructure, more more more more…

We are on a remote island, I think less should equal more…and if people can’t live here without the mainland luxuries such as blinding fast internet, well…

Oh , yes…
“I have been against any growth right after I moved here”

“When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it's always 20 years behind the times.”
― Mark Twain