According to local news reports, satellite dishes are becoming a ubiquitous fixture in the South Shore area of Lake Tahoe in Nevada because of the growing menu of HD channels available on Dish and DirecTV, and the current lack of HD outlets offered by local cable interests. And in an industry that is not known for local service, one DBS provider seems to have the edge over its chief competitor because it employs a local contractor.
A Lake Tahoe electronics store that serves as an independent contractor for Dish Networks estimates it has installed more than 1,600 dishes in the area in the past couple of years—largely from a lot of cable subs who have recently purchased new HD sets and have decided to jump to a dish to take immediate advantage of the few dozen HD channels now available on DBS, according to the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
Given the large amount of snow and other severe weather conditions in the area that can plague satellite reception, Dish’s retail contractor serves as a local service provider in case of problems. DirecTV currently has no local rep, and according to the electronics store’s manager, “People like local service.” Sales of HD sets in the region have tripled in the past three years.
Tahoe’s cable provider, Charter Communications, said it plans to begin providing some HD channels in the near future.
