Town of Oyen council discusses inconsistent cell phone service in region

By Stu Salkeld
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Your West Central Voice

OYEN—The Town of Oyen council discussed reports of inconsistent cell phone service in the region during its June 10 regular meeting.

During regular staff reports, including Public Works and Recreation, staff raised concerns about unreliable cell phone service during work hours and asked whether the municipality could lobby telecommunications companies such as Telus and Rogers for improvements.

Staff noted their cell phones often do not work inside the arena, town office and other locations in Oyen. They added that when entering those buildings, they expect to check for missed calls and messages upon leaving because callers may not have been able to reach them while they were inside.

Councillors commented during the discussion that they were dissatisfied with cell phone service from Telus and suggested service from Rogers appeared to be somewhat more consistent. There were also comments that Telus customers could consider switching to Rogers for better service.

Council heard that, at times, service is unreliable even when users are outdoors with a clear line of sight to a cell tower.

As discussion continued, councillors appeared to agree there are more dropped calls now in Oyen and the surrounding region than there were in the past. A dropped call occurs when a call is unexpectedly disconnected before either party hangs up. Such interruptions are often attributed to network capacity issues, technical problems or weak-signal areas known as dead zones.

It was noted that cell phone signal boosters, which can be installed on buildings, may help improve reception.

One councillor stated his Oyen business experiences about 40 dropped calls per day.

Near the end of the discussion, councillors suggested communities across the region may need to work together to ensure their concerns are heard by telecommunications providers.

Your West Central Voice contacted both Telus and Rogers by email on June 11 regarding concerns about cell phone reception in the Oyen and Special Areas region.

Telus did not respond before deadline. If a response is received, this article will be updated.

Rogers responded in a June 12 email, stating: “We’re committed to delivering the best networks to Canadians and continue to invest to bring the most reliable service to rural communities across Alberta.”

Rogers added that it is aware of reports of intermittent wireless issues in the Oyen area and said technicians are working to optimize service in the community.