[08/27/2019] Meet Makenna Chrzan, DayStarr’s Customer Service Representative. Makenna joined us back in January and has been a great addition to our team. If you have called our office, you may have had the great pleasure of talking to Makenna on the phone, as she answers many of the calls that come into our office. You also may have talked with her if you have visited our office.
Makenna plays a crucial role in getting your Fiber Internet installed into your home. She is one of our valued team members that take customers from their first interaction with us, getting their address scheduled for a site survey if necessary, and scheduling the installation of their Fiber Internet. For customers who have signed up since January, your install may have not happened without Makenna!
When asked what she enjoys most about working for DayStarr, Makenna stated that her favorite thing is how much fun we have. “The DayStarr Team has fun in the office together but also gets the job done. I work with some pretty awesome people here at DayStarr!”
On a more personal note, Makenna was born and raised in Corunna and attended Corunna High School. After high school, she attended Baker College of Owosso where she obtained her bachelor’s degree. Makenna loves to be outside whether she is doing yard work, helping out on the farm, or going up north to hang out on the lake. Makenna recently got engaged and is the aunt of the cutest little nephew. The next time you are in the office, say hello to Makenna!
[08/27/2019] We are eager to announce that the Indian Rock subdivision is now complete! If you or someone you know live in the Indian Rock subdivision you can now get connected with the best Fiber Internet in Shiawassee County.
Next up, we are headed to Kelly Jo Estates at the corner on Copas. We expect completion at the end of August. Residents in Kelly Jo Estates can call or visit the office to get their service agreement now and be ready to roll when construction is complete!
We are also extending our network east on Hibbard Road in Corunna between State Road and M71. This area is scheduled to be completed sometime in September.
After Kelly Jo Estates and Hibbard are complete, we will be heading into Gould Woods. If you or someone you know live in Gould Woods expect to see some DayStarr vehicles in the next few months.
We can’t wait to hook up new customers with these builds and continue to grow our network!
[08/27/2019] Many of you may have enjoyed our new music video “Can’t Stop the Fiber.” If you haven’t, we’d love to have you check it out on Facebook or YouTube! While you are there, make sure you subscribe so you can enjoy all our great content. We had a blast creating it and we apologize in advance if it gets stuck in your head.
While groovin’ to the memorable tune you might recognize the voices of our very own Aaron Lobb, Jared Jackson, and David Black. With the help of Sovis Productions, our team recorded our spin on Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling.”
After spending some quality time in the recording studio, we captured some great video footage. You may have seen many of our team members running around Owosso in “Can’t Stop the Fiber” t-shirts and dancing to our catchy jingle! We visited local businesses including the Owosso Community Players, Gilbert’s Hardware & Appliance, eXp Realty, and Youngs Chevrolet Cadillac. These businesses had the “pleasure” of hearing the song serval times while enjoying the DayStarr Team’s best dance moves. See it all in the full-length video!
A shortened version of the video is running at NCG Owosso during the preshow. Be sure to check it out before the previews, or it may just pop up as an ad on your social media feed!
[08/27/2019] As a lifetime resident of Shiawassee County and a local business owner, it is great to see companies like DayStarr grow and flourish in our community.
My day to day business requires my phone and internet services to be as near 100% reliable as possible. DayStarr is the only communications provider I have ever been a customer of that has lived up to my expectations. In fact, they have exceeded my expectations in many ways.
The personal level of customer service and technical support that DayStarr provides is unmatched in any other business I have ever dealt with. They are incredibly easy to reach when you have questions or the very rare problem that may occur with their service.
At home, we have 12-18 devices connected to our network at any given time. We all enjoy streaming audio and video and just never have any issues with bandwidth or internet speed.
Shiawassee County is very fortunate to have a phone and internet provider that delivers a knockout product/service, backs it up with excellent customers service. They are also great stewards that contribute and give back to this community as a company core value.
[08/27/2019] Providing the opportunity for your home to be connected to the world via
Before we begin construction in an area, engineers carefully assess the environment and determine whether aerial or underground construction makes the most sense. Building underground is often the most efficient way to expand our network and connect it to your home. In some areas, generally more rural, our network is aerial (attached to utility poles), but this requires us to obtain permits and rent the space on the poles, so it can become a lengthy process.
When we do place our services underground, we always do so in the right-of-way. What is the right-of-way? When roads and streets are constructed by a city, township, or county, a buffer area on either side of the paved area is created. This area, known as the road right-of-way, is measured from the center line of the road and varies based on the type of road. A common width is 33 feet from the center line of the road. In an area with sidewalks, the right-of-way includes and often extends beyond the sidewalk. As a telephone company licensed by the State of Michigan, we are authorized to place communications cables in the public right-of-way. This right-of-way is shared by other utilities and is used to deliver services like gas, electricity, water, sewer and cable TV. DayStarr coordinates access to this public right-of-way with the governing municipality and is permitted to access this area as needed to construct and maintain current and future communications infrastructure.
Public Act 174 of 2013 requires that ANYONE who disturbs the ground with power tools call Miss Dig ( 811 ) prior to digging. It is not legal to begin digging until all providers in the area have indicated their flags have been placed and it is safe to dig. This applies anywhere but is particularly important in the right-of-way. DayStarr always works closely with the local utility owners and MissDig to ensure that we dig safely. Homeowners must not remove flags (even for lawn mowing) without first speaking to one of our crew to ensure we are done in that area.
It is extremely important to note that MissDig only locates public utilities. While technically homeowners are not allowed to place sprinklers, dog fences, or private electric lines in the right-of-way, we know it happens. If MissDig doesn’t mark it, we don’t know it’s there! Please speak to our crew and alert them to any such buried services so that we can avoid them. If we do damage these lines, our crew is trained to repair them for you, however we cannot reimburse you for third-party contractors to do the repairs without prior approval. The best solution is to talk with our crew so that we completely avoid your buried services!
DayStarr most often uses a process known as horizontal directional drilling (HDD) or directional boring. Most of the time we just refer to it as boring (even though it’s really quite exciting!) In the past utilities had to excavate a trench along the entire path that a new utility was to be placed. Using boring, we can enter the ground and then drill horizontally many feet before popping up out of the ground at our next access point.
PA 174 requires that when digging within 48” of a buried utility the accuracy of the flag or paint mark be verified visually. This verification is accomplished through “spotting“ the buried utility with a small hole using soft excavation techniques (hand or water digging). When the mark is inaccurate, a bigger hole or opening must be created to find the buried utility. Our crew goes through the area and spots utilities prior to beginning the directional drilling process. A spot hole is then covered with a cone or plywood until we have completed the process of boring in that area.
Wherever we dig we make an effort to restore the ground to an equal or better condition than what we found. The construction in an immediate area can often take several weeks. After construction in an area is complete, our restoration crew*** will restore the right-of-way. When possible, we try to accommodate special requests like specific brands of seed or even throwing topsoil and seed out in small nearby areas of your yard that could use some help. Weather can impact how soon we are able to get back and perform restorations. If construction is occurring in the winter or spring, we may wait until an appropriate season so that the new grass seed can take root.
Know that we dig with purpose and we strive to restore the right-of-way in front of your yard, so in the future, it’s like we were never there. Unfortunately, sometimes the ground settles, or we miss a location. If you ever notice an area that needs some extra attention, we encourage you to contact our office and we can ensure that the right-of-way is looking its best!
Our goal is that when we are completed, the only difference you notice is the availability of the fastest internet in the county!