The gales of November
Phew – what a whirlwind time we have had so far! Mother nature isn’t exactly playing nice, but we are doing our best to make it work. In early 2018, we had no fiber on our poles, now we have over 818 miles of mainline fiber! We have also connected over 1325 Truestreamers!
Hayes Area
Two-thirds of our Hayes area has access to our high-speed internet, depending on when you registered your interest and returned all your paperwork! Now we’re working hard to bring the fiber from the mainline to homes. This step may involve some minor construction work on your property depending on the type of electric service you have. We are working as quickly and safely as we can to get as many installations done as we can before Mother Nature completely takes over. If you have an overhead service, we can bring service to your location during the winter. Once the ground is frozen, underground installations become nearly impossible. We are looking at options, like temporarily laying the fiber line on the ground for the winter and coming back in the spring to move it underground. If we are not able to install the underground to your location before the ground completely freezes, one of our fiber drop technicians will be evaluating your location to determine if a temporary ground lay is a feasible option. If it is not an option or your paperwork as returned late, you may not see service until the spring.
The remaining third that is not complete is a small area between US 31 and Old 31, both east and west of Burgess Rd. We are finishing up an electric work plan in that area, so our fiber is delayed until the electric work is complete. We know you’re anxious to have high-speed internet, and thank you for your continued patience, but I think we can agree, a safe, reliable electric system is a priority! When the work plan is done, we will have a better timeline of what we can/cannot get done on the fiber side.
Petoskey East
Our entire Petoskey East area is lit, meaning everyone in our Petoskey East area could connect to our high-speed fiber internet, depending on when you registered your interest and returned all the paperwork. Now it is a matter of bringing the fiber from the mainline to homes. This step may involve some minor construction work on your property depending on the type of electric service you have. We are working as quickly and safely as we can to get as many installations done as we can before Mother Nature completely takes over. If you have an overhead service, we can bring service to your location during the winter. Once the ground is frozen, underground installations become difficult. We are looking at options, like temporarily laying the fiber line on the ground for the winter and coming back in the spring to move it underground. If we are not able to install the underground to your location before the ground completely freezes, one of our fiber drop technicians will be evaluating your location to determine if a temporary ground lay is a feasible option. If it is not an option or your paperwork as returned late, you may not see service until the spring.
Petoskey West
Petoskey West – part of your area, the area more to the west, is lit and continue to work on drops to homes from the mainline. Some in-home installations are taking place as well. As with our other areas, we will continue overhead installations throughout the winter and do our best with underground installations. Our fiber drop technicians will also evaluate each location we can’t get to yet to see if a temporary ground lay is a feasible option. If it is not, you may not have service until the spring.
The remainder of Petoskey West, more to the north, mainline construction is complete and the system has been turned over to our ISP side. Drop construction from the mainline to individual locations are in process. In-home installations will follow. Again, if you have an overhead service, you may get connected this winter. If you have an underground service, we will evaluate temporary solutions, but you may not have service until the spring.
Resort
A small portion of the Resort area – part of Lake Grove/Manthei Rd area is lit and ready to go, while the remainder of our Resort area is expected to be done with mainline construction and turned over to our ISP side later this week. We are continuing to work on drops from the mainline to the home in this area, and like Hayes, Petoskey East, and Petoskey West, overhead installation can take place during the winter and we will continue underground installations as long as we can. A temporary ground lay drop may be an option as well, our fiber design tech will evaluate each situation as needed. If it is not an option, you may not see service until the spring.
While we are working as hard as we can to get as many registered folks installed in 2019, we know some specific areas will be delayed in the construction process until 2020. There are several factors for the delay, including low demand as well as the difficulty of the construction in that area. We are working on contacting everyone in the delayed areas.
Phase 2 – Harbor Springs, West Traverse, Cross Village, Pellston North, Pellston South, Oden
Mainline construction has begun around a few parts of our Petoskey Phase 2 area. We have learned a lot while working in our Phase 1 area, and we have listened to the feedback we have received – so we’re changing it up a bit in Phase 2. More info to follow in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!
Boyne
As previously announced, we performed a fielding study of our Boyne Service area over the summer and into the fall, to determine a cost to extend our fiber network. We’ll have an update on what our board of directors has decided soon!
And Beyond!
Keep encouraging your friends, family, and neighbors to register their interest. Demand is one of the factors we use to determine what area to explore next!