2 edits | Skybeam outages in south Dallas/Ft. Worth A storm with 70-80 MPH winds (NWS) came through a corridor in the Alvarado/Midlothian area just south of the Dallas Ft. Worth metroplex around 2:30AM Monday, April 11. 2011. This storm took out one or more Skybeam line of sight ISP communication hubs, killing (according to their own recorded message) around 17,000 subscribers for a period of around 48 hours. Today still an unknown amount of people within the corridor are without service, with no way to get into the piece-meal service matrix provided by Skybeam other than the single threaded, call, wait on hold, give up, record a message, stand by phone for call from help desk, give number for technician to call back, wait for call from technician and continue to wait.
A relative in the area and a Skybeam customer who was not in the corridor (hit only by the first two-day outage) additionally reports that Skybeam is sending out emails in response to trouble reports that if a problem is reported more than once per day, the person reporting the problem will be placed "at the end of the line".
I am guessing that Skybeam is a typical holding company who purchased a local service provider (AirCanopy) to collect the monthly fees while providing only a minimal support structure and with negligible to zero invested in disaster planning and recovery. This message only clarifies how their operation is apparently laid out. With a wind storm creating this much damage and havoc, what would be the result and response to a real disaster, I have to wonder?
On Thursday of this week there was no recorded message giving any advise to people in the area when the service would be restored, no instructions to phone a hotline for their particular geography and/or if and when tech teams would be assembled and available in each area for a massive antenna reconstruction, even though the (minimally) 20 mile wide path of the storm must have affected thousands of subscribers, leaving them without service. |
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| Yes, this (Air Canopy) used to be a great company. If you called with a major issue it was not unusual to get a message directly from the owner of Air Canopy. During his tenure, I think that I had an outage once that lasted two days, during an equipment upgrade. Otherwise, the company had a zero outage average. Even through multiple storms. For periods scanning multiple years. Unfortunately, now we are seeing week long and growing longer outages with no customer service at all. We are additionally seeing threats to move you to the bottom of their queue if you call more than once per day. I guess that is convenient if you do not respond to your callers at all. I find it inexcusable. I am currently looking for a different provider and will no longer tolerate the customer "no service". Sky Beam needs to keep in mind that we do have options. Perhaps they are fewer than many but still options do exist and their lack of customer service is pushing us to fully evaluate and explore those other service options. |
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| reply to Don Juane
Further investigation of this company found a convenience gas station operator wondering what happened to all the Skybeam trucks and service personnel who used to stop by. While giving me directions, he pointed out the Skybeam offices I should find down the road at 3261 Fm-663, Midlothian, TX 76065. When I reached the extreme edge of the city where the Skybeam signs were now obvious, I pulled into the empty parking lot where I saw a 4 store-front strip-mall and tried all 3 doors marked with the Skybeam logo. A small sign was posted on one door stating "We've moved" giving an Arlington TX address (about 25 miles away or more). By cupping my hands I was able to see through the one way energy film where the 3 large office spaces remained now completely empty. I spoke with the receptionist in the concrete company residing in the mall's store-front number four and she stated that Skybeam disappeared last month leaving only an 866 number posted on their door.
I wonder how long it will take the local subscribers to realize that their support team has moved on? |
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| reply to Don Juane
I had an account with Partnership Broadband that was satisfactory. SKYBEAM meged with them in March 2011. For two days now, I have used my old ISDN account to log onto the internet.
My diagnostic software says the problem is somewhere between the modem on the roof and the internet on SKYBEAM'S end. I can even "piggy-back" on my neighbor's wireless broadband connection, which tells me that the problem isn't on my end on the connection. Furthermore, I have not received a billing from SKYBEAM as stated in their mid-March e-mail to me. It said I would receive it by April 17 and it would have information in it, including my account number. Since I have not received it, I can't even use it to check my account with them. So far the service I have received with SKYBEAM has been unsatifactory and below what I expect from wireless broadband service. This especially true, in that I tried to get technical support this morning, Friday, April 22, 2011, and was informed my message that there were no technician's available for support. If this is the kind of service I can expect from SKYBEAM, I may well consider taking my business to another wireless provider or return to using ISDN which was at least reliable. |
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| Skybeam Texas died on Thursday April 28th around 12:30 pm. I've called several times and get the same recording admitting they are having major problems. No way to talk to support, can only request a call back which has not happened.
No response to emails either.
Time to look for a new provider. |
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| Ok so I've only been with them 2 months and its been down WAY more than up. Out in the country we have not many choices and they blamed my equipment- brand new alienware desk top (new 2/11), alienware laptop (new 10/10), Sony vaio laptop and a cisco E3000 router (new 2/11). I don't buy crap and it was ok on & off but they changed my towers and now its not working. They are saying the default gateway is bad whatever that means. Funny how its my stuff when they have a message saying they are having outages. There is always an outage with this company and if anyone in the Joshua Area can give me a name of someone else PLEASE let me know, I can't deal with this. My neighbor is on the old tower and she is not working either! ANy ideas!? |
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| I live in Alvarado and have had Skybeam since February. I have had all of these same issues and no internet since the storm. The customer service is unacceptable. One of my co workers has Tier one and has not had an issue at all during these storms.
I am dialing thier number as soon as I finish this post.
TierOne Converged Networks, Inc.
Patriot Tower
350 N. St. Paul Street, Suite 2650
Dallas, Texas 75201
Main:
(1) 866. 551.1367
214. 217. 8626 |
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