The light at the end of the internet tunnel?

Those of you from Away will not find this compelling reading. Just wait until tomorrow, OK? There will be spaniels, lakes, excellent treats–all the usual suspects. Those of you from Around Here are likely to learn something useful.

This afternoon Chris and Sonny opened their Torch Lake Market cafe to the huddled masses yearning to understand their communications options. HDTV, DVRs, digital phone service, and yes, real internet.

A lot of people came, including Jeff Berlin, the Charter sales rep from Petoskey. He brought orange sheets (packages for new customers) and yellow sheets (packages for existing customers) and order forms and a good attitude. We tested him.

The basic message is this.  The official launch date for the Charter upgrade in Torch Lake Township is Tuesday, December 13. If you already have Charter cable TV, you received a letter today that outlines your options.  You can do nothing, in which case your service will automatically drop back to a very basic level and your bill will drop, too.  Or, you can choose one of the special introductory packages on offer.  Jeff will explain it all to you.  You can also add – or purchase a la carte – highspeed internet service and/or telephone service. If you want the telephone service, you can keep your existing phone number.

If you do not have a Charter cable TV subscription, you have a similar menu of choices. And if all you want for Christmas is your internet . . . you can have that too.  (Nobody wants to sell me the Porsche, on account of they say I cannot drive it, but they are willing to sell me the minivan, and given that I’ve been riding a tricycle for the last couple of years, it looks like a big improvement.  The installer is supposed to be coming on Thursday, December 15.  I will let you know how that goes.)

If you are a snowbird who flew south for Thanksgiving, your best option might be to wait until a couple of months before you return to make your decision. If you are here year-round, you might want to figure out what you want to do before December 13. You can call Jeff. He is a real live person from Petoskey, and he knows where Torch Lake Township is. You can reach him here:

Note: If you are an internet service provider from another company and would like to let people know about other internet options, please leave a comment. I’ll be happy to give you an opportunity to make your case, too. May a thousand flowers bloom. Real competition is good for everyone.