|
TheBuzz Erika Engle |
A sort of telecom good-bye
and a high-tech helloPretty soon, AT&T Hawaii won't have George Irion to kick around anymore.
The director of sales and marketing is retiring in December after 25 years in telecom, 18 of those with AT&T Hawaii.
He remembers when "everybody had the black rotary phone and liked it, whether they liked it or not."
Those old phones gave way to touch-tone phones of all shapes and sizes. Then customers were given the option to buy their own phones instead of having no choice but to rent them from "the phone company."
"The big thing, was when AT&T moved from a utility to a very customer-focused type of company," Irion said.
He started his career with Pacific Telephone, part of the Bell system, in 1978. He was a customer service representative in a college town, hooking up students with telephones.
He relocated to Hawaii in 1985 and is choosing to stay here, rather than pursue a longer stretch with the company in New Jersey.
He's not ready to check into a retirement home yet, however.
"I'm 53 so it's not like I can just walk away. I have a 9-year-old and a 13-year-old."
"When I was 45, I thought 53 was old," he said.
He feels differently now and wants to pursue a second career. It's common for folks to do a 180-degree turn in changing careers, as reflected in his out-loud thought, "Maybe I'll be a pool boy a the Halekulani."
More seriously, he's looking at something that "involves giving back to Hawaii. I don't need to go to work for a big corporation that is not Hawaii-based."
"I definitely see another 10 or 15 years ahead."
Remote surfing
Great. Another choice for the remote hog in your house.Oceanic Time Warner Cable of Hawaii and Navic Networks, a technology partner based in Massachusetts, have launched what they call a digital home page on Digital Channel One.
It is designed to see what's on next based on category, order food or receive "customer care."
"It's much easier to use than the (existing) guide," said Alan Pollock, vice president of marketing. "We have big plans for it."
This first version will recommend viewing, based on the most-watched shows at the same time on the same day of the previous week, but Oceanic is not above blatant self-promotion.
"We put OC16 at the top ... we own the real estate," Pollock said.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com
