Cellphone coverage across Nova Scotia has been a major problem over the last few years, especially during severe flooding, wildfires and even when residents need to call 911.
Over the summer, customers with different providers experience the same issues: calls dropping, reduced coverage and what they feel is “poor service.”
Areas that used to have great coverage have appeared to have fallen off the wagon, providing more issues than before, impacting regular day-to-day life, along with commercial businesses, impacting their operations.
Residents also experience calls bouncing to other provinces when calling 911, resulting in longer than normal response times for emergency services.
Due to little to no cell coverage, some residents have invested in Wi-Fi calling, which has created additional obstacles.
“We’ve had to call 911 four times this summer. As soon as I dial it, the Wi-Fi call goes through to New Brunswick 911.” Shared Black Rock Resident.
There have been multiple scenarios where residents have experienced lengthy time delays just to get through to ambulance from 911, as a result of poor cellphone coverage in their area.
The traditional landline telephone is a service that many have gotten away from. With less and less of this reliable service, some customers are actually considering having it reinstalled, to ensure they have access to 911 service while being able to connect with their family members when needed.
Others have had to invest more money in Wi-Fi to ensure they have reliable service, downloading alert apps so they have access to important information along with communication with family members.
As of July 2024, the total investment towards cellular coverage in Nova Scotia was $69.2 million, with the following breakdown by the province:
• $47.3 million announced in October 2023 for enhanced coverage targeted at poor service areas.
• $3.3 million to build four trunked mobile radio 2 towers that was also announced in 2023.
• $18.6 million to construct 27 Government of Nova Scotia-owned telecommunications towers, announced in July 2024.
From my survey in late July, a total of 2,436 people took the poll with lots of different discussion around cellphone coverage.
Out of all the people that voted, 92% of voters noticed a decrease in cellphone coverage this summer.
6% of voters felt they hadn’t noticed a difference, while only 2% of voters don’t use a cellphone.
More information can be found by visiting the Build Nova Scotia site focused on cellular coverage in Nova Scotia below.
https://internet.buildns.ca/cell/
Adrian J.
