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Yukoners frustrated by months of shoddy cell and internet service

Yukon residents — including premier Ranj Pillai — are getting frustrated about a slew of recent telecommunications disruptions in the territory. The premier blasted Bell Canada's CEO in a letter earlier this week.

'It should be embarrassing,' says Premier Ranj Pillai in an email to Bell's CEO

Asad Chishti · CBC News ·
A man in a suit sits at a table before a microphone, with a backdrop of flags.
Ranj Pillai, Yukon's premier, wrote a letter to Bell Media urging them to prioritize resolving service issues across the territory. (Kelly Clark/The Canadian Press)

Frustration in the Yukon is mounting over months of frequent telecommunications outages.

Whitehorse resident Rhiannon Russell has noticed issues in her cell service for weeks. During many of her recent calls, there have been gaps of about 10 seconds where the audio cuts out completely.

"As Yukoners, we get accustomed to crappy telecommunications services and we shouldn't have to," she said. 

Ben Warburton, store manager and Whitehorse resident, says quality of service has been deteriorating for weeks. He is now unreachable by phone for parts of his commute and his downtown workplace has lost internet access several times. 

Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai is also speaking out about the issue.

On Wedesday, he sent an email to Bell Canada's CEO denouncing the quality of service the company, which owns the majority of Yukon's cell towers, has been providing. The email was shared with media.

"It should be embarrassing to telecommunications providers that Yukoners cannot have uninterrupted cell phone calls in the downtown of their capital city," he wrote.

"In emergency situations, reliable cellphone service can be a matter of life or death and Bell needs to live up to their obligations mandated by the CRTC and do better."

Also copied on the email were Curtis Shaw, Northwestel's president, and Claire Anderson, British Columbia and Yukon's CRTC commissioner.

A man stands near a Chamber of Halifax poster. He is wearing a blazer with a shirt and purple tie.
Mirko Bibic, president and CEO of Bell Canada, wrote back to the premier. Bell's team, the letter says, found "congestion issues". They have since been resolved and are being monitored. (CBC)

Mirko Bibic, Bell Canada's President and CEO, personally responded to Pillai's letter a day later. He said "congestion issues" caused by greater usage on the network were partly to blame for the issues, along with upgrade work that may have caused "intermittent disruptions." 

Bibic said the problems should now be resolved, but the company would notify customers in affected areas "in the unlikely event that issues arise." 

The CEO also said the company is investing $22 million to improve the Yukon's 4G and 5G services, but did not clarify which projects that money is funding. 

The Yukon government is currently working to install an $85 million backup fibre line from Dawson City to Inuvik, which Northwestel will lease and operate for two decades. 

Northwestel, which is owned by Bell Canada, has contributed $15 million to the fibre line project.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Asad Chishti

Reporter

Asad Chishti is a reporter with CBC Yukon. Previously at the Queen's Journal photo desk, he moved to Whitehorse in 2019. He first got here by bicycle. You can reach him at asad.chishti@cbc.ca.

    With files from the Canadian Press

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