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Cherry Capital Q&A's

Q. What is the plan for getting Cherry Capital to approve the buildout for our area?

A. The current plan is to quickly accomplish the following:

• Assessing community interest
• Finding a cluster of interested persons
• Deciding to invest in the project
• Installing wireless as a springboard to fiber to the home. It provides a higher speed connection and increases the long term value of your property, just like AC or any other home improvement does.
• Timeline of wireless late summer to fall, fiber to cluster in the first half of 2020, expanding services to additional clusters as interest builds, and installation of additional fiber to the home for more and more residents in the future.

Q. What is the cost of the service, and can I upgrade my speeds in the future?

A. Here is the PRICING FLYER. You can choose the speed requirements that best suits your current needs, and upgrade at any time in the future. Please click this LINK https://ccc.servicezones.net/CR00014 to sign up! Having a problem? Click this LINK for answers to common questions. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MUST FIRST ‘CREATE AN ACCOUNT‘ ON THE CCC SITE, AND THEN THE SECOND PHASE IS TO SELECT YOUR TYPE OF SERVICE FOR YOUR HOME. 

Q. Who is Cherry Capital?

A. They are a family-owned company who has been serving small underserved communities just like ours for over 18 years. They are NOT funded by the government and are dependant on their reputation for good service to grow their business. They will be in the community soon so you can meet them personally, but please sign up now so that they can gauge the interest of PI/Krakow residents in their service. They are investing their money in the community and for them to feel comfortable in doing so they need to know the community wants and needs their services. Cherry Capital is licensed by the Michigan Public Service Commission and under their regulation. They are committed to high service levels to all the communities that they serve. Cherry Capital Communications will be a PART OF OUR COMMUNITY! Can you even imagine that from Verizon or AT&T? The ‘big guys’ won’t even talk to us about their future plans except to tell us they don’t have any! They have a great reputation for service and integrity!

Q. Cherry Capital Communications is a small company, how can I be sure they will be here in the years to come?

A. CCC is a smaller company, but three things you need to remember. First, none of the large companies nor any of our current providers have indicated the slightest intention of providing Fiber to the Home to the greater community any time soon. Second, think of fiber as a utility. PIEG is a small cooperative power company, and if they went out of business, filed for bankruptcy, or were bought out would you lose electricity? No, another company would use the same wires to keep you lit up. And, once the fiber comes to our community who provides the signal that flies through the fiberoptic cable will not mean anything to you. Fiber is just a utility that provides the service to your home, so whatever might happen in the future to CCC will not matter much, since someone will simply take over providing the service. CCC is quite capable now to put fiber into our community. What happens after that should not have any material impact. Thirdly, would you rather deal with a small company that is in your neighborhood, or one located somewhere on one of the coasts?

Q. When will we get service?

A. It all depends on the response from the community. We may well be able to get wireless service in about 9-18 months! Construction on Fiber to the Home can begin next Spring. Please pass this site information on to your neighbors!

Q. What is the purpose of the $249 installation fee?

A. Fiber to the home is the BEST and LONGEST lasting (40-50 years) solution for bringing true high-speed Internet to your home. It is a high up-front expense to bring in buried fiberoptic cable, and the fee being charged does NOT cover even the cost of the install to your property. Fiber overcomes significant limitations of wireless or satellite which many of us already experience—speed limits, data limits, loss of service during bad weather, etc. Before CCC commits to the project they want to know that residents are as committed as they are to the project. Fiber also can be enhanced in the future with NO changes to the underlying system that brings it to your home. Fiber IS the future! Bringing it to Guthrie Lakes will provide a great Internet experience AND increase the value of your home in the future. There is also an initial 24-month’ commitment’ so that CC can recoup their investment. There is also a limited time $10 a month fee for the first 24 months to cover some of the initial cost of constructing the network. Monthly payments begin when the service is provided to your home. NO MONEY WILL BE COLLECTED UNTIL AFTER THE PLAN HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND THE PERMITTING PROCESS HAS BEGUN. Fiber to the Home will be completed in approximately six months from that time!

Q. Why are you’re proposing to begin the process of bringing fiber to us by using a ‘wireless system’?

A. Laying fiber has significant upfront costs and requires burying it along the roadside and not using existing poles. As a result, the entire process will take 18 to 24 months once the build begins. Cherry Capital wants subscribers to get reliable Internet QUICKLY so they will install a true high-speed wireless system that will reliably cover your needs immediately. Wireless can also expand coverage, based on your positive responses from your neighborhood, to the entire community willing to commit. Right now we have a ‘patchwork’ of providers and Cherry Capital wants to provide a ‘no neighbor left behind’ approach to providing Internet to the Guthrie Lakes area. Wireless will be discontinued entirely when the Fiber to the Home build is completed. You do NOT have to use the wireless if you do not wish to, you can use your current provider until the time the fiber is completed, but you MUST sign up for Fiber NOW to get connected at the current rates.

Q. If I don’t sign up now can I get the service later?

A. It is very likely that you will be able to sign up for the service at a later date BUT the install fee may well be several times what the ‘introductory’ fee of $249 is now. That is because fiber has to be laid to your house and it is most economically done when they are placing the fiber along the roadway. If they have to come back a year later they have much higher costs. That is why it is the most cost effective to do it in the initial buildout of the system. That is why the cost is lower to those who are part of the build at the beginning.

Q. I have a lot and will be building on it in a year or so, what can I do to guarantee that I will have fiber to the home?

A. Cherry Capital allows for a ‘build only’ option where you pay $449 now, and they will construct to your lot in the initial buildout. You will not pay any monthly fee until you are connected when you move in. If you do NOT have an address then please use this CONTACT link.

Q. The Cherry Capital Fiber pricing is a bit higher than what I pay now, what do I get for that extra money?

A. Well, Cherry Capital provides true high-speed Internet. Their speeds (currently up to 100 Mbps on fiber) will allow you to completely cut the cord, if you wish, on DISH, your DVR, and other services that are currently separate from your Internet bill. Services such as HULU, ESPN, etc., may well add up to LOWERING the total cost for your entertainment needs.

Q. What about ‘part time’ residents, what might be available for us?

A. We are working to develop a plan for residents who are not year around in PI. Indicate on the sign-up form that you are ‘seasonal’ and we will get back to you when we have a program in place.

Q. Will Cherry Capital be offering other services besides the Internet?

A. Yes, they have a home phone service offering and are working on a package of TV offerings that can be bundled with the Internet. We will have more information on these offerings soon.

Q. Can I ‘increase’ my speed later if I wish?

A. Yes, you simply contact Cherry Capital and they can increase it immediately.

Q. Is each home capable of getting the highest speed even if they did not order it from the start?

A. YES, every home is engineered for the highest speeds from day one.

Q. What equipment will be needed in my home?

A. The fiber connection will have a small box a fraction of the size of a cable or wireless box, and that is all you will need to bring the fiber in. Homeowners will be required to provide their own wireless router.

Q. How deep is the fiber laid underground?

A. Along the roadway, it is usually Four Feet, but to your home, it will be generally only 18 inches

Q. How many devices can be used in the home?

A. The number is only limited to the capacity and speed of your own wireless router. There are no limits imposed by CCC.

Q. If we order the Telephone option does it still connect to 911?

A. YES! When you dial 911 it will be automatically directed to the correct location.

Q. With the telephone option what equipment will I need to purchase?

A. You will need your own phone and a battery backup unit in case of power failure. These are easily and cheaply available from a number of sources, and in most cases, your existing equipment will work fine.

Q. Does CCC have adequate sources of fiber to support this project?

A. Yes, they have multiple sources and existing contracts with several strong providers.

IF YOU HAVE OTHERS QUESTION PLEASE ‘CONTACT‘ US HERE!