Waterloo Region Record

Cell providers blasted for outages

‘There is no question we need our telecommunications companies to … be more transparent’

MICHAEL MACDONALD HALIFAX

The premier of Nova Scotia has issued a stinging rebuke to the telecommunications companies that serve the province, saying too many residents were still without cellphone service four days after post-tropical storm Fiona roared across the East Coast.

“Nova Scotians have questions about when their service will be restored, how widespread the outages are and what the companies plan to do to ensure this never happens again,” Houston said Wednesday in a statement. “There is no question we need our telecommunications companies to step up and be more transparent.”

All four companies responded with statements highlighting their co-operation with the province and their efforts to restore service.

The premier said the government had asked Bell Aliant, Eastlink, Rogers and Telus to send representatives to the province’s emergency co-ordination centre before Fiona’s arrival, but he said none of them was initially willing to co-operate.

“Eastlink, Rogers and Telus declined to attend … in person during the initial response,” the premier said.

Bell Aliant, however, eventually sent someone after the province complained to senior management, but the premier said the representative left after two days to work virtually. The company issued a statement saying its representative had to move off site Sunday because they had to make their own property safe, but Bell Aliant said they remained connected to the centre.

“Both 911 and our emergency responder network also remained fully functional throughout the storm and aftermath,” spokesperson Katie Hatfield said. “We have also had a representative take part in every (Emergency Management Office) media availability … and are committed to keeping customers updated through the media, our social media channels, websites, call centres and stores.”

At the height of the storm, the majority of Bell Aliant’s wireless and wireline networks were operational and “at this point are close to being back to 100 per cent,” Hatfield said.

Eastlink CEO Lee Bragg said he believes the premier’s comments about the outages are unfair, given the magnitude of the storm, which generated hurricane-force winds and record-breaking storm surges. As for co-operation, Bragg said it didn’t make sense to send an employee to the co-ordination centre until they were briefed about the level of damage.

“It made more sense to have somebody in our network operations centre who had real-time access to the information,” he said. “I think that’s maybe (Houston’s) lack of understanding of how the networks are managed. This was the most co-ordinated effort I’d seen, so I think it’s a little unfair to be critical.”

As for Telus, the company argued it has been “a fully engaged participant,” actively collaborating with provincial authorities by providing timely updates about repairs. Telus said it started working with the Emergency Management Office on Sept. 21, two days before the storm arrived, and it has taken part in 15 consecutive calls with the co-ordination centre.

Meanwhile, Houston said he has asked federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne to hold the telecommunications companies accountable for providing information about service outages.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Champagne had called a meeting Wednesday night with the major telecom companies.

CANADA & WORLD

en-ca

2022-09-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-09-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://waterloorecord.pressreader.com/article/281732683363524

Toronto Star Newspapers Limited