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Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
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@Work: Dish and Dat

April 27, 2008 — Terry McKoy is known far and wide for his colorful Sloop Jones hand-painted clothes and textiles, but in January, he added Dish and Dat to his St. John-based enterprise.
McKoy's Dish and Dat is the local representative for Hughesnet broadband satellite Internet service and Dish Network, which provides satellite television.
He sees it prudent to expand his economic base. With the current economic downturn, he feared that people wouldn't splurge on his Sloop Jones products, but would spend on more essential services such as Internet access and satellite television.
"It's wants versus needs," he said.
McKoy, 60, and his partner, Barbara Alperen, 58, have been on St. John since 1989. They moved from the Boston area first to Tortola before settling in to the East End of St. John.
He saw the handwriting on the wall when the 2007 holiday sales statistics came out. McKoy said women's clothing sales were down 5 percent — but electronics sales rose 6 percent.
McKoy was a Hughesnet customer, and when the local representative retired, he was left without anyone to service his dish.
Using satellite services makes him independent of the vagaries of telephone lines and cable television service. He called them both services for people who want to be independent no matter what calamity occurs, be it bankruptcy or hurricanes.
"After a hurricane, you just put up the dish and point it at the sky," he said. The Hughesnet satellite is positioned 26,000 miles above the earth.
Even with the lengthy power outages that often follow hurricanes, he said using a generator to power the computer and the television can put people immediately back in business.
The Hughesnet service frees up telephone lines, and he said that customers can put the service on hold for up to six months if they're going to be off island for extended periods.
His typical customer spends $70 a month on the Hughesnet Internet service, with rates ranging from $59 to $180 depending on speed and bandwidth. The Dish Network runs $19.99 to $90 a month depending on programming choices.
Setup is extra. McKoy said the Hughesnet costs $1,200. The Dish Network costs $800 to $900 to install.
McKoy said that it takes about three weeks for installation because the parts have to come by boat.
To reach Dish and Dat, call 779-4001.
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