Viya Eyeing September 30 Completion Date For Customer And Business Restoration

Viya said this week that it arrived at a major milestone when it completed node reconstruction on St. Croix on June 19, and the 30th of the same month in St. Thomas, an important step the company said sets the foundation for complete restoration of services to businesses and customers by September 30.

“I am very pleased that we have reached this important milestone. We know, however, that there are still customers who are awaiting service because we still must connect the drop to the home and optimize the service,” said Viya CEO Alvaro Pilar.

The company said restoration time depends on the severity of damage in a given estate and whether work is required inside the customer’s home. What the company is calling a “sweep and certification process”, aimed at improving the quality of service on the network, has already begun and is targeted for completion by July 31, 2018. The completion of drops and installation of the wires to homes and businesses is scheduled for September 30, 2018.

Viya’s September 30 full restoration deadline is six months behind the date Mr. Alvaro promised last year at a press conference, where he said all services would be restored to customers and businesses by March 30, 2018.

With the new deadline set, the company is asking customers on St. Croix and St. Thomas to contact its office at 777-Viya (8492) to schedule an in-home/on-site visit if all of Viya equipment are plugged in but do not have service. “In St. Croix and St. Thomas we are now focused solely on reconnecting customers,” Mr. Alvaro said.

In an effort to ensure that there are no further delays to wired service restoration, Viya is requesting that customers who do not have an address on their home or business, post their physical address in a location that is clearly visible from the roadway. Visible signage will make it much easier for Viya’s technical team to locate homes or businesses when they are restoring the areas, Viya said.

For service repairs and assistance with high-speed data/Internet service, Viya customers should dial (340) 777-Viya (8492). The hours of operation are 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. from Monday through Friday and on Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Customers should have available the telephone number, statement number, address, description of problem and brief directions, Viya said.

“Viya expects to complete construction of the final two nodes on St. John by July 31, 2018 and we look forward to getting all of our customers back in service within the next 90 days,” Mr. Alvaro said. “On behalf of the Viya team, I want to extend heartfelt thanks to our customers for their patience as we have worked diligently to completely rebuild and improve our network.”

Feature Image: Viya lineman work on a pole at the Sunny Isle intersection. (Ernice Gilbert, VIC)