BARRHEAD - The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and Town of Barrhead Coun. Ty Assaf encourages those who have experienced problems with poor cellphone coverage within the community's boundaries to squeak loudly and often to Telus.
Assaf told his fellow councillors during the Oct. 10 council meeting that he had a discussion with a Telus representative along with Coun. Dave Sawatzky and Coun. Don Smith, during the Alberta Municipalities (ABMunis) fall conference and trade show.
The representative confirmed that the company did have a technical issue at one of its towers in the area that was impacting connectivity in the municipality.
"Apparently, a capacitor is down," he said.
Assaf added the rep told them that the company approved the replacement of the capacitor but that its installation would not take place until 2024.
"First quarter, second quarter, third quarter, we have no idea," he said.
Although Assaf said they were pleased to learn that Telus would be making the necessary upgrades or repairs, they asked what cellphone users could do until then.
"If people in our community have a hard time getting a [cellular] connection through Telus, she suggested that they call *611 on their [Telus cellphone] and report that you have a bad connection," he said, adding that the more complaints they get from a particular area, will help get the issue moved higher on the company's priority list.
People can also call 1-866-558-2273.
"So, I encourage everyone [with a Telus cellphone or service plan] to call *611 to report every bad connection, disconnect, dropped call that you have so we can get this improvement sooner," he said.
Assaf added that he has called the number twice in the last four months.
However, he said now that he knows the issue is on Telus' end, he will be doing it more often, adding at first, he believed the problem was on his end.
Coun. Dausen Kluin suggested that the municipality make the information available through the town's website and social media platforms.
Assaf agreed, saying he would add it to his social media and hoped others would.
"I want it out there," he said. "If people out there have problems, don't get mad and not do anything about it. Report it so it is not just one blip on a map and that we have a genuine concern that needs to be addressed.
Smith concurred, adding that many Barrhead residents were paying for a service that often let them down.
"Saying that they will fix the problem sometime in 2024 is not a good answer," he said.
Assaf added that since it would be some time until Telus repaired the system, they tried to negotiate a rebate for Barrhead users.
"Unfortunately, they wouldn't commit to it because they said they could not confirm where a user was using that phone as a user could be using their device outside the problem area," he said.
The Barrhead Leader reached out to Telus regarding the status of their tower serving the town. Telus spokesperson Lena Chen via an e-mail stated that their tower serving Barrhead was fully operational and is working as intended.
“Multiple factors can impact wireless connectivity, including the distance of the tower from the community or increased capacity demand on our network,” Chen said. “We understand how important connectivity is to the Barrhead community and our team continues to monitor the network and its performance. We are always exploring options to further enhance wireless service, and we’re committed to keeping the community updated when we have more to share.”
History
It is the third time Assaf has brought up the issue of cellphone connectivity, the first being at the Sept. 13, 2022, council meeting, where he noted a noticeable drop-off in the reliability of cellular phone service, particularly voice service.
At the time, Telus told the Leader the issue was due to an equipment malfunction and that it would be rectified within the week.
County of Barrhead council also has voiced their concern about poor cellular connectivity.
In October 2022, County of Barrhead councillors instructed administration staff to draft a resolution asking Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) to help pressure telecommunication companies to improve cellular service in rural areas, specifically to lobby the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to address the lack of reliable cellular network. The RMA is the county and municipal district version of AM.
During a council meeting in late June, the county reiterated to visiting RMA executive director Gerald Rhodes and District 3 director John Burrows the need for the organization to continue its lobbying efforts.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
