If you were able to get a generator hooked up at your home or business, and you were fortunate enough to subscribe to a satellite-based internet service, such as Viasat’s ‘Exede’, you had vital communications during the aftermath of Hurricane Michael.
Clear Choice Satellite, in Chipley, Florida, and owned by Andy Schack, has been the local provider for Exede, now owned by Viasat, and is fielding a lot of service calls this week in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, but for different reasons than normal cable providers or land-based telephone businesses.
‘Our service never went down’, says Schack, ‘bacause it comes directly from a satellite in orbit, and if a customer lost signal it was because of local issues’.
‘We had a lot of wind, to say the least, during the worst parts of the hurricane a few weeks ago’, says Schack, ‘and even if our dishes were not impacted by trees, branches or debris, sometimes there was just enough wind pressure to move the dish by a few degrees, and this can be the difference between full internet speeds and reduced service’.
Clear Choice Satellite is located at 814 Falling Waters Road in Chipley, Florida and Andy and his staff have been the local experts in satellite service for many years in this region.
‘Our service is very quick these days, and we are able to get people back up and running in a very timely manner’, says Schack, ‘but the local land line phone service is our biggest problem’.
‘We can call out, but our customers, when calling our office, get an error message to the effect that “all lines are busy”, and that’s not good’.
Andy suggests that if you need service you simply email him at ClearChoiceSatellite@yahoo.com, giving your name, phone number and nature of your call, and they will reply to you with a phone call.
‘It’s not perfect or pretty, but we are getting by until the phone lines have been repaired’, says Schack.
Satellite-based internet service has proven, at least on a local level, to be the difference between dependable communication or not, and Andy Schack’s service should be investigated if you are having an issue getting affordable, dependable internet connectivity at your home or business.
