Gary Zurenda is on a mission to make sure everyone–the poor, shut-ins,
and elderly–are not left out of the digital television revolution,
which has been pushed back to June 12 mostly because many weren’t quite
ready. Zurenda sure is.
His start-up company, Home Stations Installations (HSI) in West Pittston, Luzerne County, opened in an 18,000 square foot facility that will serve as a call center for at least 50-100 customer service representatives that will deploy thousands of installers of digital antennas and converter boxes nationwide.
For about $150, HIS will install a digital antenna and converter box that will provide 25 digital-quality channels for free. That means HSI will challenge the giants of the cable and satellite TV world who offer more channels–many some subscribers don’t care to watch but have to pay for–and a monthly bill.
Zurenda is already spreading the word about the availability of free digital TV through t-shirts that shout ”I want my free DTV” and bilingual advertising. He has also spoken to area politicians about the coupons the federal government is offering households and how they’re leaving out a significant portion of the population.
”The people who really need them are elderly and dont have Internet access, or are poor and cant afford another monthly bill,” he says. ”Once we install, you don’t have a monthly bill to pay. Its free.”
Zurenda said HSI offers discounts for veterans and senior centers.
”That’s why we started, because people are getting gouged.”
Source: Gary Zurenda, President of Home Stations Installations
Writer: Joe Petrucci
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