Summary
Prince Edward Island's cellphone service from Bell and TELUS has been abysmal for almost two years. The only viable solution has been to switch to Eastlink. Eastlink is not paying me for this reference; it is the only way to get a reliable phone service.
Cellphone service from Bell and TELUS on Prince Edward Island has been terrible since Hurricane Fiona struck in the fall of 2022
By Stephen Pate (with story from PEI Hansard and CBC PEI)
Prince Edward Island’s cellphone service from Bell and TELUS has been abysmal for almost two years.
The only viable solution has been to switch to Eastlink. Eastlink is not paying me for this reference; it is the only way to get a reliable phone service.
PEI’s Minister of Economic Development says improvement is not on the horizon. “Poor cell reception is a major issue across the Island,” stated Minister Gilles Arsenault. He noted that government officials have met with phone companies and the Canadian Telecommunications Association (CTA) about the problem (Hansard, November 23, 2023).
Liberal MLA Robert Henderson says his calls keep getting dropped while he’s driving to and from his home district in West Prince. (P.E.I. Legislative Assembly)
Liberal MLA Robert Henderson also reported frequent call drops while driving in his home district of West Prince.
Arsenault acknowledged TELUS’s lack of concern, as they are Bell’s mobile telecommunications partner in Atlantic Canada.
“We were actually not satisfied with the meeting that we had with them,” he said. “We also indicated to them that we know we’re a small fish in the pond here, but we need services.” Further meetings with cell companies and the CTA are planned to address the issue.” (CBC News)
Do Bell or TELUS care about your dropped calls?
Like the government, islanders have had no success complaining to TELUS or Bell. I switched to Eastlink in May 2023 after Bell finally admitted, after three months, that dropped calls were not my fault.
The inability to use my cellphone became urgent when I needed to visit the QEH Emergency in February 2023. I could not call for a cab or reach my doctor. I had to use Kari, a taxi-hailing service that operates via Wi-Fi. This was not just an inconvenience, but a potentially life-threatening situation.
Others faced similar issues. The manager of Pat and The Elephant, a wheelchair transport service, could not use her phone. Many people I spoke to confirm their phones were unreliable unless they were with Eastlink, a Maritime cell provider.
PEI Government admits dropped calls are a problem
Bell and TELUS have long been the favoured telecommunications companies, with most contracts untendered. The government maintains that only Bell is big enough to service its needs, and Bell is also the main supplier to the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia governments. Untendered P.E.I. government phone contract worth $23M
That close relationship even landed retiring PEI Premier Robert Ghiz a job as President of the CTA, the industry lobbying organization that dismisses complaints.
‘We need to have more towers’
‘We need to have more towers,’ Minister Arsenault stressed. This is not just a matter of convenience, but a necessity for the safety and well-being of the residents of Prince Edward Island.
“He said there are two basic reasons for the dropped-call issue: too much demand, and the fact that P.E.I.’s cellphone towers are aging out.”
Trust a politician to give Bell/TELUS an easy out. It’s our fault, Islanders fault for making too many phone calls.
Minister Arsenualt made a vague promise we would get the statistics on how many calls are dropped. “Arsenault said cell providers and government officials have data on the number of dropped calls that could be provided to the public at some point. A spokesperson with the province later said government does not have that data.”
Nine months later, the statistics have not been provided, and the problem persists. CBC recently reported a doctor’s wife going door to door in desperation to call 911 when her child was choking at home.
Switching to Eastlink remains the only reliable solution for now.
Quotations:
Hansard November 23, 2023, topic “Cell phone sevice”, page 2260 text or video
CBC PEI News, More cellphone towers needed on P.E.I. to prevent dropped calls, minister says text
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