VIB-TV no more
HomeNet Northwest takes over as Internet provider
EPHRATA — Internet service is in the process of being switched to a different service provider for more than 1,000 customers, after VIB-TV announced it was shutting down operations in Grant County earlier this week.
Grant County Public Utility District Officials said Thursday that the video service to approximately 500 people had been shut off along Grant County's fiber optic Zipp network, and that Internet service for former VIB-TV subscribers was being transferred to new provider HomeNet Northwest.
"They're moving Internet customers as we speak," PUD Telecommunications Director Larry Jones said Thursday.
Jones said the move would not be instantaneous though, and subscribers may notice some blackout time during the move to HomeNet Northwest.
VIB-TV officials sent a letter to subscribers earlier this week, saying that it was discontinuing its service in Grant County. In that letter the former service provider states that they feel the PUD commission's recent 3-2 vote to "stand pat" fiber build-out in 2005 and their vote to surplus the system's video head end "was the last straw."
The PUD commission approved the "stand pat" vote in March by a 3-2 vote, with Commissioners Bill Bjork, Randy Allred and Greg Hansen voting in favor and Commissioners Tom Flint and Vera Claussen opposed to the model. The vote means that no new construction will happen on the Zipp system in 2005. Customers in areas where fiber is available however, are still able to connect to the system.
Bjork said earlier this week that the PUD is still requesting an investigation into the district's relationship with VIB-TV, for which they have asked for help from the State Auditor's Office. In responding to findings in the most recent accountability audit of the PUD, Bjork asked for the help of the SAO to help determine whether any current or former PUD employees had any interest in VIB that would have violated any laws.
In the letter, VIB-TV said they plan on providing services to locations where fiber is available in other counties within the Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet). VIB-TV stated in the letter that they plan to transfer some employees to its offices in those other counties while laying off others. The service provider said also that it may return to Grant County if there is a change in PUD commissioners.
VIB-TV was risking a March 30 disconnect after PUD officials sent the service provider a letter in February, stating that the service provider's credit rating had dropped below the level accepted by the PUD's telecommunications customers service policies. The PUD was asking that the service provider pay a deposit of more than $130,000 or risk a disconnect. That disconnect happened Wednesday, and their listing as one of many retail service providers disappeared from the PUD's Web site by mid-day.
PUD spokesperson Sarah Morford said that a listing for HomeNet Northwest would likely be found on the PUD's web site as early as the end of the week.
The PUD said that HomeNet Northwest is being treated as a new local service provider. Morford said also that they are confirming that HomeNet Northwest is a different company than VIB-TV's parent company. VIB-TV changed its name to HomeNet Communications after merging with HomeNet Utah last year. HomeNet Communications is based out of Provo, Utah.
The chief executive officer of the new HomeNet Northwest operation is Jason Pattison, the PUD said this week. Pattison was not available for comment.
VIB-TV officials were unavailable for comment, but VIB customer service representatives said when called that HomeNet Northwest would operate out of the same Basin Street office and hire on all of VIB-TV's employees.