Rogers offers free cellular service for a few months, even in the dead zones of northern Ontario

Cellular reception just got a lot better in parts of northern Ontario and it's free for a few months.

Rogers is using the satellite network of Starlink and others to offer free text message service for anyone across the province until the end of October.

Called Rogers Satellite, the company's chief technology officer Mark Kennedy says the service basically "turns your smart phone into a satellite phone."

"It's going to bring more than messaging. It will become apps, email, data and in the future, voice calls as well," he said.

There are vast cellular dead zones across the north and a soon-to-be released report by North Bay-based Blue Sky Economic Growth Corporation shows that less than half of the region has service.

Executive director Susan Church, who tested out Rogers Satellite and couldn't get her text to go through, sees it as a good step forward.

"It will make a big difference. Is it going to be able to satisfy those looking to send video message and that kind of thing? No. You'll be able to send a message via text and that will help in emergency situations," she said.

Church points to wildfires or the major storm that stranded campers inside Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park in June, as examples of times when cellular service is needed for public safety. 

She said there are currently no federal or provincial government programs to encourage cellular development in northern Ontario, but she does see it as the "next frontier" after broadband internet.

Although she says both services are dependent on companies being able to make money serving the sparsely-populated corners of the north. 

"It's all about budget and money and making sure those that deliver it are able to make some kind of profit. They can't do it out of the goodness of their heart and they're looking to make some kind of good business case," she said, adding that cellular towers are more expensive to put up than internet transmitters. 

Carmi Levy, a technology analyst and journalist, calls Rogers Satellite a "game changer" after years of Canadians being "at the mercy of terrestrial wireless networks."

"We should not have large swaths of highways and rural areas in Canada that do not have basic cellphone coverage," he said. 

"There should be better requirements from the federal government to compel telecommunications companies to provide these services as part of the public good and not simply because it's profitable."

Levy said this free Rogers satellite service comes at an "interesting time," when the company, as well as rivals Telus and Bell, are looking at shutting down their outdated 3G cellular network, which is often the only signal people in rural areas can get "when nothing else works."