Western Wireless Corp. said things are running smoothly in Hawaii since it launched the nation’s second personal communications services network there more than one year ago.
But in the eyes of consumers, it may be a different story. The company, operating as VoiceStream Wireless, still does not cover the entire state, which is essential to many customers who frequently travel to other areas of Hawaii, say cellular carriers there. And the company is currently fixing some problems with the Nokia Mobile Phone handsets.
“We continue to increase our coverage throughout the island of Oahu and the island of Maui,” said Tammy Zahm, acting general manager in Hawaii. She declined to comment on what percent of the state has PCS coverage. “The system has improved well over 100 percent … People know who we are,” she said.
One problem Western Wireless faced was the Nokia phones dialed 911 when customers pressed the number 9 on their key pads. Zahm said the company has taken a pro-active step in correcting the problem, and customers have not become upset.
“The 911 issue is a problem with the Nokia phone,” said Zahm. “Most people didn’t even know there was a problem. We sent a letter saying [customers] needed to bring their phone in to upgrade it in the store … They were very happy to see that we were resolving it.”
According to a recent article in a Hawaiian business newspaper, customers were unhappy with Western’s coverage during the first six months of operation. The paper also reported that Western was unfamiliar with the Hawaiian market when it launched service and did not know how many people it would need to staff its offices.
Western recently has restructured, said Zahm, and currently is searching for a new general manager after Harvey Luke left the company last month. Zahm is the general manager of Western’s El Paso market.
“There has been some restructuring within the entire company to allow us to operate more efficiently,” said Zahm. “We’re changing our distribution strategy, which will allow us to distribute our product in nontraditional distribution areas.” The company has set up kiosks in major retail centers such as Sam’s Club and Long’s Drug Stores.
Competition is heating up in Hawaii as five wireless carriers are battling for market share. Honolulu Cellular Telephone Co. and GTE Mobilnet Inc. are the cellular carriers. PrimeCo Personal Communications L.P. launched Code Division Multiple Access PCS service there in November, and Hawaiian Wireless launched a digital cellular network on the specialized mobile radio frequency early this year.
“There hasn’t been a noticeable price change in the market yet,” said Honolulu Cellular General Manager Gil Mendelson.
“Frankly, the big story is the advertising,” noting that with five different carriers advertising, people are hearing about the advantages of wireless service.
Western, which operates a Global System for Mobile communications network, said it has spent a considerable amount of money on advertising.
