Scott Greczkowski
11-09-02, 08:30 AM
Glitch makes Dish dark for thousands
Uplink equipment sends out signal that cuts service
By Steve Caulk, Rocky Mountain News
November 9, 2002
Thousands of Dish Network customers lost their service Thursday morning after equipment at an uplink center malfunctioned, the company said.
The equipment sent an "incorrect" command to owners of some model 301 receivers, the low-end set-top box provided by Dish Network parent EchoStar Communications of Littleton, said spokesman Marc Lumpkin.
He described the outage as a "temporary disruption," and he said the company by Friday had restored service to customers who called the company Thursday.Those who didn't call (or didn't get through to a customer service representative) remained without service.
The failure affected 1 percent to 2 percent of the company's subscriber base, or about 100,000 customers, he said.
"We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused," he said.
Anyone affected should call the company toll-free at (800) 333-DISH, he said, and the company will resolve the problem, probably within "several hours."
"This is very rare," said Bob Scherman, editor of Satellite Business News. "And the perception that it's a bigger problem is amplified by the fact that it's taking place on the busiest day of the week for taking calls. And it could take two weeks to figure out what the glitch was."
Customers who called Thursday night received constant busy signals. The call volume did not seem to let up Friday. Typically, Fridays are the busiest times for new customers to call Dish Network and ask the company to activate their service, Scherman said. It took well over a dozen calls to the toll-free number before a Rocky Mountain News reporter connected Friday afternoon.
"I started trying to call at 6 (p.m.) and finally got through about 11:30," said customer Joe Levine of Denver on Friday morning. "A technician said he would be able to start it up during the night by sending something through the 'smart card.' Well, they weren't too smart. They can't give me a definite time as to when they'll have it fixed."
As of Friday morning, Levine could only get a static screen with weather information, he said.
The outage was nationwide, Lumpkin said. The company has two uplink centers, one in Phoenix and another in Cheyenne. Lumpkin said he did not know where the problem originated.
caulks@RockyMountainNews.com or (303) 892-2744
Uplink equipment sends out signal that cuts service
By Steve Caulk, Rocky Mountain News
November 9, 2002
Thousands of Dish Network customers lost their service Thursday morning after equipment at an uplink center malfunctioned, the company said.
The equipment sent an "incorrect" command to owners of some model 301 receivers, the low-end set-top box provided by Dish Network parent EchoStar Communications of Littleton, said spokesman Marc Lumpkin.
He described the outage as a "temporary disruption," and he said the company by Friday had restored service to customers who called the company Thursday.Those who didn't call (or didn't get through to a customer service representative) remained without service.
The failure affected 1 percent to 2 percent of the company's subscriber base, or about 100,000 customers, he said.
"We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused," he said.
Anyone affected should call the company toll-free at (800) 333-DISH, he said, and the company will resolve the problem, probably within "several hours."
"This is very rare," said Bob Scherman, editor of Satellite Business News. "And the perception that it's a bigger problem is amplified by the fact that it's taking place on the busiest day of the week for taking calls. And it could take two weeks to figure out what the glitch was."
Customers who called Thursday night received constant busy signals. The call volume did not seem to let up Friday. Typically, Fridays are the busiest times for new customers to call Dish Network and ask the company to activate their service, Scherman said. It took well over a dozen calls to the toll-free number before a Rocky Mountain News reporter connected Friday afternoon.
"I started trying to call at 6 (p.m.) and finally got through about 11:30," said customer Joe Levine of Denver on Friday morning. "A technician said he would be able to start it up during the night by sending something through the 'smart card.' Well, they weren't too smart. They can't give me a definite time as to when they'll have it fixed."
As of Friday morning, Levine could only get a static screen with weather information, he said.
The outage was nationwide, Lumpkin said. The company has two uplink centers, one in Phoenix and another in Cheyenne. Lumpkin said he did not know where the problem originated.
caulks@RockyMountainNews.com or (303) 892-2744