As a HughesNet® reseller, Jacob Minett is used to serving customers in off-the-beaten-path locations. But the Arkansas-based owner of MyNet, an independent dealer, never expected one of them to be nearly 4,000 feet above the Colorado River Canyon’s floor—on the breathtaking edge of the Grand Canyon.
A striking site of natural beauty, Arizona’s Grand Canyon has served as a favorite destination for generations. And in 2007, the Hualapai Indian tribe built the Grand Canyon Skywalk at Grand Canyon West to enable visitors to see the steep gorge from the sky—the way an eagle sees it. A horseshoe-shaped glass walkway juts out over a side canyon, allowing visitors to “walk the sky”—and get a stunning view of Eagle Point, named for a rock formation in the shape of an eagle with its wings spread.
But even a centuries-old land of awesome natural beauty needs 21st century services—like broadband. Skywalk’s dial-up Internet service was too costly and too sluggish to handle the needs of a busy tourist attraction. That’s when MyNet stepped in and recommended HughesNet broadband service by satellite.
Today, Skywalk is using HughesNet Business Internet, a high-speed, always-on broadband service to power its video surveillance system. The organization is also using HughesNet for high-speed Internet access at the airport adjacent to the Grand Canyon. With HughesNet, Skywalk can quickly handle online orders, point-of-sale transactions, Web browsing, the transfer of billing data to its server in Las Vegas, Nevada, and a myriad of other administrative tasks.
“HughesNet broadband satellite service is the ideal solution for remote customers like Skywalk that have no access to landline broadband services,” said Minett. “Though installation can be the biggest challenge in out-of-the-way areas, a recent customer survey conducted by MyNet reported a high level of customer satisfaction with the nationwide HughesNet installation team. As a reseller, that makes my job a lot easier.”
It is perhaps fitting that the out-of-this-world broadband satellite service from MyNet and HughesNet is playing a role in helping people to “walk the sky” via the Hualapai tribe’s Skywalk—and to see the Grand Canyon from what is probably as close as they can get to an eagle’s perspective.