Shenandoah Telecommunications Company's Response to COVID-19
March 16 2020 - 4:00PM
Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel) (NASDAQ: SHEN), a
leading provider of telecommunications and broadband services in
Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky and Ohio,
today made several key announcements regarding its proactive plans
to limit the exposure of COVID-19 for all of Shentel’s key
stakeholders and to temporarily increase broadband internet data
speeds and data allowances.
First and foremost, we remain focused on the
health and welfare of our employees, customers, and partners. While
it is impossible to predict the precise impact this pandemic will
have in the communities we serve, we are committed to taking the
appropriate steps to ensure our network and services continue to
operate seamlessly for our customers.
Temporary Speed IncreaseShentel
announced that it is temporarily increasing the speed of every
eligible small business and residential broadband data customer to
a minimum speed tier of 50Mbps with a 750 GB (gigabyte) data
allowance at no additional charge regardless of their current plan.
In addition, Shentel will waive all installation fees for new
broadband data subscribers and increase data allowances by 250 GB
for all customers whose current rate plan includes a monthly data
allowance. These changes will take effect immediately and remain in
effect through April 30, 2020 in response to the anticipated
increase in data usage as a result of newly enacted work and study
from home policies.
“We believe the decision to increase data speeds
and allowances is a critical step to help our customers throughout
our service area at this time of great uncertainty,” said President
and CEO, Christopher E. French. “Shentel has served many of
these markets for more than 100 years and cares deeply for the
health and wellbeing of our customers. By temporarily increasing
the speeds and data allowances at no additional charge for our
customers, we hope we are making the situation surrounding COVID-19
a little easier to deal with when they may be forced to work from
home, do school work or attend classes virtually,” continued
French.
New COVID-19 Operations
GuidelinesIn addition to these changes to assist our
customers during this unprecedented time, Shentel is consulting
information and recommendations provided by the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) and communicating with our state and local
officials in each of our service areas to stay informed on the
situation in each market.
As a result, Shentel has established new
guidelines surrounding our operations which are intended to help
protect our employees, customers and communities, and better allow
us to continue providing our essential services. These guidelines
have been in effect since Friday, March 13th and will remain in
effect until Thursday, April 30th.
- Shentel has increased the frequency and intensity of the
cleaning efforts that take place in our offices and other company
facilities including our retail stores.
- Shentel has limited all non-essential travel, in-person
meetings and large employee events or gatherings to reduce the risk
of exposure.
- Shentel has implemented a new work from home policy to
encourage all employees whose job responsibilities permit remote
working to do so.
- Shentel has closed all office facilities to the public
permitting only essential personnel, deliveries and shareholder
services. Retail locations remain open at this time but all
customers are encouraged to conduct business with Shentel online or
over the phone at 1-800-SHENTEL.
Key Network/Remote Operations
FactsWe deeply value our customers and understand the
important role we play in supporting their telecommunication needs.
It is our intention to continue providing you with best-in-class
service and peace of mind during this uncertain time.
- Shentel’s core networks are designed with geographically
redundant equipment and diverse fiber facilities to support maximum
uptime. All network devices support secure remote management and
monitoring capabilities.
- Shentel maintains geographically diverse customer service, tech
support, and operations centers. Our critical Network
Operations Center technicians are also enabled with remote work
capabilities to answer calls, log tickets, and troubleshoot
issues should the need arise.
- Shentel maintenance and repair activities requiring on-site
support are performed by local engineers and technicians when such
work is unavoidable. This process will continue unless events
require us to adjust this support model. We will, of course, adhere
to any customer-initiated restrictions regarding on-site
personnel.
About Shenandoah Telecommunications
Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel) provides a broad
range of diversified communications services through its high
speed, state-of-the-art wireless, cable and fiber optic networks to
customers in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The Company’s services
include: wireless voice and data; broadband internet, video, and
digital voice; fiber optic Ethernet, wavelength and leasing;
telephone voice and digital subscriber line; and tower colocation
leasing. Shentel is the exclusive personal communications service
(“PCS”) Affiliate of Sprint in a multi-state area covering large
portions of central and western Virginia, south-central
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and portions of Maryland, Kentucky,
and Ohio. For more information, please visit www.shentel.com.
CONTACTS:Shenandoah Telecommunications CompanyJim VolkSenior
Vice President - Chief Financial
Officer540-984-5168Jim.Volk@emp.shentel.comOrJohn Nesbett/Jennifer
BelodeauIMS Investor
Relations203-972-9200jnesbett@institutionalms.com
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