Thursday, May 14th: Retail Stores will Re-Open
We’ll be re-opening the Afton, Thayne, Soda Springs, and Driggs retail locations for walk-in traffic this coming Monday, May 18. The following guidelines are in place to ensure your safety as well as the safety of our staff:
-Guests will be required to maintain 6 feet of distance between all other persons in the stores at any given time.
-Our staff will be wearing masks and, when necessary, gloves, and will take all forms of payment.
-Plexiglass, floor indicators, and stanchions will be in place to ensure ease of distance.
Friday, April 24th: Silver Star Donates to Regional Food Banks
Thayne, WY, April 20th, 2020 – With local food banks experiencing a spike in requests for assistance, Silver Star has made a $1000 donation to each of the following food banks in the region:
Teton Valley Food Pantry
Community Food Basket (Idaho Falls)
Rexburg Food Pantry EICAP
Caribou County Food Bank (South Eastern Idaho Community Action Agency) serving Soda Springs
Jackson Cupboard
Afton Food Pantry
Thayne Community Food Bank
Alpine Food Pantry
“We know a lot of our neighbors need food assistance right now. Silver Star strives to be a good neighbor so we feel it is critical to contribute towards meeting the needs of our communities during this stressful time and hope other businesses will do the same, if they are able,” commented Allen Hoopes, Silver Star Chairman & CEO.
Monday, April 6th: Wi-Fi Hotspot added in Idaho Falls
This new Wi-Fi hotspot is located at 890 Oxford Dr, Idaho Falls, ID 83401 (Hayes Management Company) and is directed toward Linden Park Elementary School parking lot.
View a map of this location and all the other temporary Wi-Fi hotspots that we’ve installed over the last few weeks. And, of course, PLEASE practice social/physical distancing while using this Wi-Fi hotspot.
Friday, April 3rd: New Wi-Fi Hotspot in Rexburg
Wednesday, April 1st: Employees encouraged to spend $100 at local small businesses
We know times are tough, and may get tougher in the coming weeks, so we want to help. In an effort to support local businesses, Silver Star has encouraged all Silver Star team members to spend $100 on their company credit card at local establishments. For employees experiencing job loss or other hardships in their households, this purchase can be for personal use. Otherwise, employees are encouraged to use their spend towards helping others in need.
Some examples so far of how employees have spent the money: buying art supplies from a local business for kids in need, ordering pizza delivery for health clinic staff, and purchasing dog and cat food for donation at the local animal shelter.
“We know our employees are active community members and we trust that they will be able to identify needs that might otherwise remain unseen. We are happy to empower them at this time to help out local small businesses that are essential to our local community and economy. So when you see someone from Silver Star using our credit card, please know that this is not an unauthorized purchase but rather encouraged,” said President Ron McCue.
Monday, March 29th: Additional Wi-Fi Hotspots
Since last Wednesday we have added the following Wi-Fi hotspots:
- Alta, WY located at 440 West Alta Ski Hill Road (new as of 3.25.20)
- Driggs, ID located at 262 East Ross Avenue (new as of 3.25.20)
- Jackson, WY located at the Teton County Fairgrounds (new as of 3.27.20)
- Star Valley Ranch, WY located at 199 Vista Drive (new as of 3.27.20)
- Alpine, WY located at the Alpine Branch Library (new as of 3.27.20)
Maps for these locations can be found at www.SilverStar.com/helping-keep-you-connected/
PLEASE remember to social/physical distance while using these Wi-Fi hotspots.
Wednesday, March 25th: Network Capacity
Considering the new need for increased internet usage at home, we want to give you some peace of mind about our network capacity. Silver Star has heavily invested in a robust 100 GB high capacity network and diverse national connectivity. The good news is that our recent peak usage is only utilizing 1/3 of our network capacity so we are well positioned to handle increased usage by our customers.
Monday, March 23rd: Helping Keep You Connected.
In following Silver Star’s commitment to the FCC’s Keep America Connected Pledge of, “Open Wi-Fi hotspots to any American who needs them”, we are pleased to let you know that we have added additional public Wi-Fi hotspots in the following locations. Please note that these are outdoor locations to support physical distancing. Be prepared to work in your car or to be dressed appropriately for the weather.
- Victor, ID at Sherman Park
- Tetonia, ID located 6309 North Main Street
- Soda Springs, ID located at 550 E 2nd South
- Irwin, ID located near the Post Office and elementary school at 3911 Old Irwin Rd.
- Thayne, WY located at 168 Moser Ave.
- Alta, WY located at 440 West Alta Ski Hill Road (new as of 3.25.20)
- Driggs, ID located at 262 East Ross Avenue (new as of 3.25.20)
- Jackson, WY located at the Teton County Fairgrounds (new as of 3.27.20)
- Star Valley Ranch, WY located at 199 Vista Drive (new as of 3.27.20)
- Alpine, WY located at the Alpine Branch Library (new as of 3.27.20)
- Rexburg, ID located at 478 N 2nd E. Access this hotspot within the Albertson’s and (old) Walmart parking lots. (new as of 4.3.20)
- Idaho Falls, ID located at 890 Oxford Dr, Idaho Falls, ID 83401. Park in the Linden Elementary School parking lot (new as of 4.6.20)
These locations are in addition to Silver Star existing location at the fairgrounds in Afton, WY.
Maps for these locations can be found at https://www.silverstar.com/helping-keep-you-connected/
We have placed Wi-Fi access points at these locations to work for short term internet access needs. Here are a few things to be aware of while accessing these hotspots:
- These are not permanent locations and are only being turned up during this time of need.
- These are controlled sessions; each connection is speed limited to allow for multiple concurrent users.
- The signal may be lessened if your line of sight to the access point is blocked by things such as trees or buildings.
- Your ability to access the signal is only as good as your device’s antenna will allow.
- Please practice physical/social distancing while at these locations.
Thanks to the team here at Silver Star for getting these hotspots up as quickly as we could arrange the locations.
Thursday, March 19: All Silver Star Retail Stores Closing. Support by Appointment.
As of today, all Silver Star retail stores are closed. Please call 877.883.2411 to set up an appointment for service. We will work with you to provide the support you need – whether remotely or by appointment.
Wednesday, March 18: Network Capacity Statement
Monday, March 16: Driggs and Jackson retail stores closing after today.
Silver Star is closing its retail locations for the time being in Driggs and Jackson. As we provide critical infrastructure for our customers and communities, we will continue to serve our customers with some adjustments to help mitigate potential exposure. Please reach out to us by phone, email, or by going to SilverStar.com and using our live chat function or by clicking on the “Contact Us” button and submitting a contact form.
Friday, March 13: Silver Star Communications Statement – COVID-19
We hope this message finds you healthy and safe. With all the events and concern about the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to let you know how Silver Star is responding to the communities we serve. We are committed to the wellbeing of our customers, our employees and our communities.
Our priority is the health and safety of our customers and employees. We are adjusting our policies and procedures to enable and encourage employees who are sick to stay home. We are increasing the frequency and rigor of cleaning and disinfecting in all our stores, offices and operations environments. We are encouraging our staff to maintain social distance from each other and customers as much as possible, and of course, to wash their hands frequently. Our goal is to keep all our employees healthy and working to best service your needs.
We have temporarily postponed meetings and events that would attract large crowds or require travel. All our stores are open, and we are continuing with normal business until circumstances advise us to do otherwise. However, as a precautionary measure, we encourage our customers to connect with us using remote means. Feel free to call us at 877.883.2411, visit our website at SilverStar.com and fill out the Contact Form, or talk with us through our chat function on the website.
We recognize that many people will be relying more than ever before on our broadband services to keep connected to important public health information, work, school and their loved ones. We have taken the FCC’s Keep Americans Connected Pledge which reads as follows:
Given the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on American society, Silver Star Communications pledges for the next 60 days to:
- Not terminate service to any residential or small business customers because of their inability to pay their bills due to the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
- Waive any late fees that any residential or small business customers incur because of their economic circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic; and
- Open its Wi-Fi hotspots to any American who needs them.
As we have committed to this pledge, we have received some inquiries regarding internet access and Wi-Fi hotspots. As it stands, Silver Star public Wi-Fi access is limited to the Lincoln County Fairgrounds in Afton, WY. While this is usually paid Wi-Fi access, we have removed the payment functionally and we are not requiring a password. You can have free access at the fairgrounds by joining the Silver_Star_Wi-Fi. There is currently no other Silver Star public Wi-Fi access in place.
As the Coronavirus situation continues to evolve, we rely on health and safety information from experts to ensure the decisions we make are consistent with local community, state, and federal standards.
“Silver Star’s Vision of ‘A World Where Everyone is Connected’ could not be more relevant to the situation we all find ourselves in,” said Chairman & CEO Allen Hoopes. “We are truly in this together. We plan on continuing to serve our customers through innovative uses of technology at this time – look for more information from us in the days ahead as the situation unfolds.”
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Contact:
Eric Gewiss, Director of Marketing
307.883.6628