Freeway Support still in business?
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Not unless you want to post your personal information here on the forum......and I wouldn't recommend that. But heck, you're two-thirds the way toward having three posts. Make a post telling us how long you were with your previous broker.....that will make the third post for you.
Yeah...I noticed that. As I recall, it was the same way for CanAm Satellites after they were knocked out of business. Then there was a spell where the website was "under construction". That was when a lot of folks began having trouble.
There's a post on this forum dating to December 2008 stating Freeway had been sued by the "other" Canadian providers and one of the American providers. Most of the thread was conjecture and heresay, although it did start with a news article.
I checked a resource on the Web that lists the activity of a certain well-known American provider against those it perceives to be in violation of their rules......nothing listed (yet) against Freeway.
I'm having similar issues. I've dealt with Freeway for years. Never once had a problem. In August my LNB went bad and replaced it with a dish network LNB which worked fine for my BEV. However this week all my programming is gone. I've emailed Freeway several times with no reply. Should I consider switching to Star Choice? Or should I just set up my BEV account through a relative in Canada? I have family coming to visit (Portland Oregon) in the next couple of weeks. I was thinking of ordering the Star Choice package and have them drive it down to me. I assume I just have to replace the BEV dish with the Star Choice dish in the same direction. It looks like from what I've read on here that I can activate Star Choice myself from the states and don't have to go through a broker. Is that correct? Any advice would be appreciated, I had to watch a streamed Leaf game last night and it left a lot to be desired. Thanks
They gave some bs answers about their system being down for a while. Their site did stay up for a while, and it did have a message board. Since no one was left to moderate it, I was able to vent, and have some fun. A lot of fun.
kubrick, if you have family in Canada then you should just arrange things through them, I would think....provided they don't have a problem with you using their address and phone number, etc.
You will have to change your dish for StarChoice (now called Shaw Direct) or you could just have your family bring you down a new bell system and use your existing dish.
You will have to change your dish for StarChoice (now called Shaw Direct) or you could just have your family bring you down a new bell system and use your existing dish.
You will, indeed, have to replace the dish, and it will not be looking in the same direction. The Bell dish would have been pointed at longitude 82 or 91 (I'm not sure which) and the Shaw dish will be looking at longitude 111. So I would say the Shaw dish will be rotated approximately 20 degrees further west from what you currently have. You might want to glance at your present setup and estimate if you will have line-of-sight for a Shaw setup.
The Shaw dish will mount on a mast that is 2" outside diameter, so perhaps you can use the same mast, but if you have a 75e dish, it will likely require more clearance than the Bell dish (because the 75e is wider) between the mast and any obstruction, such as the wall to which it is mounted. Of course this will depend on just how you have your mast mounted.....
Thanks for the advice guys. I think just buying another Bell receiver might be the easiest solution. So all I would have to do is use a family members address and phone number then I can set up the activation on-line correct? I assume I'll have to use a different credit card then the one I was using previously.
Well, this is my first post and the same thing has happened to me - Bell is just gone. I wanted to upgrade my system anyway but it's disturbing after so many years that they just disappeared. My family's not happy with me, either. 
Same problems with phone numbers
I too have been unable to reach Freeway Support. My Star Choice system is still alive today, but based on the experience of others in this thread, it may go dark at any time. The last billing from Freeway was on August 31st.
Please forward me the same information you supplied to others regarding connecting with a different provider. Thanks very much.
I too have been unable to reach Freeway Support. My Star Choice system is still alive today, but based on the experience of others in this thread, it may go dark at any time. The last billing from Freeway was on August 31st.
Please forward me the same information you supplied to others regarding connecting with a different provider. Thanks very much.
Ayoye....!!
To all those who have flooded my PM with requests for me to "send them information", please read Post #13.
I am not sending anyone information on my broker under any circumstances. While I will forward your contact info to my broker, I make no guarantee as to whether or not they will, in turn, contact you.
To those for whom I have already forwarded your contact information, and who have not yet been contacted by my broker, I can only offer that perhaps, in the wake of the Freeway Support saga (whatever that may be), they are "laying low". If you are in this category, and can not wait any longer for them to contact you, please re-read Post #13.
To all those who have flooded my PM with requests for me to "send them information", please read Post #13.
I am not sending anyone information on my broker under any circumstances. While I will forward your contact info to my broker, I make no guarantee as to whether or not they will, in turn, contact you.
To those for whom I have already forwarded your contact information, and who have not yet been contacted by my broker, I can only offer that perhaps, in the wake of the Freeway Support saga (whatever that may be), they are "laying low". If you are in this category, and can not wait any longer for them to contact you, please re-read Post #13.
I am thinking of getting a Canadian dish, but this thread has thrown up a red flag for me due to this situation. Is this not a good time to get a Canadian dish via a broker due to this?
AMike said:
I wouldn't let this incident deter you. Just because one broker went AWOL doesn't mean there are not any good brokers left. Just like if one hamburger joint went out of business i wouldn't stop eating burgers.
Well, here's my opinion:
When I got into the grey market game, I was scared stiff. Was I going to lose my money, would the RCMP show up at my door, was I going to end up in jail.....etc, etc.?
The person from whom I bought my hardware told me to "think of it as an temporary investment in entertainment". In other words, if you want Canadian TV bad enough, for whatever reason, go for it, but keep in mind it could end at any moment, and if it does, you will be without recourse to get your account re-established. Or, it could go on interrupted for years. There are simply too many variables to predict whether someday they (the FCC, the CRTC, the provider) will clamp down to the point that grey market will cease to exist. Suffice it to say that you are not breaking any US laws (that I know of) by subscribing to Canadian satellite TV. Of course if you attempt to procure service without paying for it, then you put yourself at great risk. But if you're a paying customer, and I'm talking about with Shaw, and you don't give them a reason to disconnect you (such as connecting your receiver to the phone line), they will likely leave you alone.
All my fears were several years ago, and I'm still watching Canadian TV, and my credit card is being billed each month by Shaw, and once-a-year by my broker. But I'm still mentally prepared that one day it will go "dark" permanently for any one of a dozen different reasons over which I have no control.
I would strongly advise you to investigate the broker's practices before making a commitment. You want someone who will set you up with automatic billing to your credit card and paperless billing. Of all the horror stories I have read, it's always been a case of the broker who promised to pay your Shaw bill (after you paid them) that go down in flames. Plus, they always seem to be enterprises that blatantly offer grey market service of the American satellite providers to customers in Canada.
When I got into the grey market game, I was scared stiff. Was I going to lose my money, would the RCMP show up at my door, was I going to end up in jail.....etc, etc.?
The person from whom I bought my hardware told me to "think of it as an temporary investment in entertainment". In other words, if you want Canadian TV bad enough, for whatever reason, go for it, but keep in mind it could end at any moment, and if it does, you will be without recourse to get your account re-established. Or, it could go on interrupted for years. There are simply too many variables to predict whether someday they (the FCC, the CRTC, the provider) will clamp down to the point that grey market will cease to exist. Suffice it to say that you are not breaking any US laws (that I know of) by subscribing to Canadian satellite TV. Of course if you attempt to procure service without paying for it, then you put yourself at great risk. But if you're a paying customer, and I'm talking about with Shaw, and you don't give them a reason to disconnect you (such as connecting your receiver to the phone line), they will likely leave you alone.
All my fears were several years ago, and I'm still watching Canadian TV, and my credit card is being billed each month by Shaw, and once-a-year by my broker. But I'm still mentally prepared that one day it will go "dark" permanently for any one of a dozen different reasons over which I have no control.
I would strongly advise you to investigate the broker's practices before making a commitment. You want someone who will set you up with automatic billing to your credit card and paperless billing. Of all the horror stories I have read, it's always been a case of the broker who promised to pay your Shaw bill (after you paid them) that go down in flames. Plus, they always seem to be enterprises that blatantly offer grey market service of the American satellite providers to customers in Canada.
point of clarification
well said. one point, my understanding is that there is no longer a grey market for American sat in Canada, as it is illegal for Canadians to subscribe to american sat service. no such law in the us, though
well said. one point, my understanding is that there is no longer a grey market for American sat in Canada, as it is illegal for Canadians to subscribe to american sat service. no such law in the us, though
Thanks for the information here. This is quite helpful since I am looking to supplement my D* service with this.
I am a newbie here and trying to get my 3 posts in so I can send a PM. Like everyone else here, I am a Freeway support customers for many years, and just realized today that I had not been billed since August. I have had Star Choice for years and as of midnight tonight, I still have my service but I guess it will be cut off any day. I am hoping to find a new broker and keep the Star Choice service.
Posting this to get my 3rd post. Has anyone contacted Global-CM to see if they have any recommendations?
Yes......you've come full-circle. I received your PM and did as you asked me to do. As I've told others, be patient, and realize that my broker may choose to not contact you if they feel that the present climate is getting too hot.
The enterprise about which you inquire was the provider of my original Shaw hardware dating back to the days when their website had a great deal of information on it regarding Canadian TV in the US. The owner was also instrumental in getting me set up with my current broker, who was not directly a part of his enterprise. The owner was very helpful, both via e-mail, phone, and via this blog. Much of what little I think I know about satellite TV I learned from him. In the midst of the economic situation the owner was forced to put his business on the back burner and turn to outside employment (in a community several hundred miles from his home) in order to survive. While Global still exists today, it's Canadian webpages have been scaled back (largely due to the owner's time constraints with his new employment) to the point that their website only gives a minimal amount of information regarding Canadian TV: pointing angles, a tutorial on how to assemble the Shaw dish, and other tech info. This information I post here about his saga is "public", and not just gossip, as he has published it, over time, in his monthly newsletters that, last time I looked, are still viewable on the Web.
In the wake of his employment change, and after my sending potential new clients his way, the owner contacted me personally and requested I cease and desist from doing so, and made essentially the same recommendations for my situation that I posted in post #13 of this thread. When it came time to upgrade my DSR-315 to an 8PSK SDef receiver, I explained my circumstances to KuSat and they were more-than-willing to sell me the new hardware and let me keep my present broker. I got the impression that Global, KuSat and my broker had all been "friendly competetors", so there were no problems for me getting "picked up" by KuSat as a client for hardware purchases.
I haven't personally communicated with the owner of Global in some time, but I presume (and hope, for my sake!!) that your contacting him would get you essentially the same information.
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