TAKE THE SURVEY
If you are taking this survey on a smart phone or wireless device and you have access to wireless Internet, be sure your device is using your Wi-Fi connection while taking this survey.
You may take the survey over SMS/text message by texting @MOON to 1-855-613-1746.
To request a paper survey, please contact (906) 259-8300.
Fixed Internet provides Internet to a single address. Learn more.
HELP BRING BROADBAND TO THE EASTERN UP!
Now, more than ever, broadband Internet is an essential and crucial service to those who live, learn and work in the eastern Upper Peninsula. In some areas of Chippewa, Luce and Mackinac Counties, high-speed Internet is not available. In order to bridge this digital divide, the EUPConnect Collaborative needs to gain a better picture of which properties do not have the essential internet they need. For this, we need your help!
This survey provides accurate data regarding which properties have Internet access and the affordability if access is available. Information gathered will only be used to support broadband Internet expansion efforts and will aid the committee in seeking grant funding to increase broadband availability in the eastern Upper Peninsula.
Completing this survey should take five minutes or less. Any information submitted will not be sold, but may be used in planning to expand access opportunities with government and local partners. We understand that you may not have all the necessary information to answer each question on this survey, please answer to the best of your ability.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SURVEY?
A: The goal of this survey is to identify areas of the eastern Upper Peninsula that do not have the infrastructure needed to support broadband Internet or have poor Internet service.
A; Call the EUPConnect Collaborative at (906) 259-8300.
A: If issues continue, please call the EUPConnect Collaborative at (906) 259-8300.
A: Clicking the speed test button at the bottom of this survey will submit your survey answers. The speed test will open on a different page and is the last step to submitting the survey. You may repeat the speed test as many times as you like.
A: While the survey will work on a cell phone, participants are encouraged to complete it from a home or business connection.
A: When visualizing bandwidth, or broadband speed, it may help to think of an internet connection as a system of roads. If there is only one lane and a lot of traffic, it will take a long time for a group of cars to reach their destinations. But if more lanes are available, the same group of cars can reach their destinations much quicker. “Broadband” is internet access, but the term refers to a high-speed internet connection that provides a user the capability to upload and download high-quality video, data and images. Current federal standards define broadband as 25 megabits per second for download and 3 megabytes per second for upload. Technology to deliver this connection can include wireless, satellite, fiber and more.
A: If you have an address in the Eastern UP, complete the survey as if you are at that address. Do not complete the “speed test” portion of the survey.
A: Fixed broadband to the home describes internet service that is delivered through a wire connecting to a building. Examples of fixed Internet include wired Internet, satellite Internet, dish and DSL.
A: All residents are encouraged to complete the survey regardless of connectivity status. Even if your residence has internet, it is critical to broadband planning and improvement efforts that your household data is recorded.
A: Residents who work from home should complete the appropriate survey (fixed internet or non-fixed internet). Answer the question “Please indicate if this is a business or residential property” with the answer “Residential.”
ABOUT EUPCONNECT COLLABORATIVE
Since the 1990s, the Eastern Upper Peninsula ISD has been providing Internet services to area educational institutions. For the last several years our focus has been on working towards cost effective broadband service across Mackinac, Chippewa and Luce counties.
Internet service throughout the EUP is often unavailable, unreliable and inadequate. The COVID-19 pandemic made this more apparent. With the passing of the Infrastructure Bill in 2021, funding the solution is now possible. Every municipality, educational institution, and Tribe has been allocated funds to implement broadband. The EUPConnect Collaborative creates partnerships between these community organizations, allowing the Collaborative to pool resources together and address connectivity issues as a whole.
As a next step, we will identify what areas in EUP still lack high-speed Internet. EUPConnect is partnering with Merit Network to develop a survey and marketing materials aimed at reaching all households in Chippewa, Luce and Mackinac Counties to identify areas lacking the infrastructure to make Internet access possible.
ABOUT THE MICHIGAN MOONSHOT
The Michigan Moonshot is a collective call to action which aims to bridge the digital divide in Michigan. Stakeholders include Merit Network, the nation’s longest-running research and education network, the Quello Center at Michigan State University and M-Lab, the largest open Internet measurement platform in the world. Learn more about the Michigan Moonshot at Merit.edu/Moonshot.
For more information:
www.merit.edu/moonshot
http://quello.msu.edu/
https://www.measurementlab.net/
Copyright © Merit Network, 2021. All rights reserved. Distribution and reuse of this survey is strictly prohibited without prior written consent.