Yesterday, those on the island relying on TDS for phone and internet service were cut off from the world once again—no phone, no internet, and no 9‑1‑1 access—from approximately 8:00 a.m. until 9:15 p.m. The 18-hour blackout left the community incommunicado. There was no way to reach emergency responders, and some businesses—including the hardware and gas station—had to turn to cash-only operations.
This comes just days after a previous outage this past Saturday, which lasted about eight hours and was attributed by the provider to “an AT&T issue,” a recurring explanation that’s frustrated many residents.
What Went Wrong This Time?
Island officials traced yesterday’s outage to a severed fiber line in Traverse City, apparently struck during Michigan Department of Transportation (M‑DOT) work. The cut disrupted service to both Beaver and Bois Blanc Islands. The work being done on the Island to provide improved service in the near term to key island locations (the “Pools of Service” project) had nothing to do with the outage. Service provided by Merit Networks, the backhaul provider for the Pools of Service project, remained up. That’s why internet service remained available yesterday at the school and BIC Center. Island wireless carriers AT&T and Verizon as well as satellite services also remained in operation according to reports.
Why This Matters
No connectivity means no calls, no internet and, critically, no 9-1-1 service leaving residents vulnerable during emergencies, unable to conduct business (or at least impaired in those efforts), and with disruption to everyday life. Last year, a TDS outage left a west side resident unable to reach 9-1-1 during a medical emergency.
Kevin Boyle is the chair of the Joint Telecommunications Advisory Committee. A prior version of this report appeared on wvbi.net.
