Bell Canada president admits ‘congestion’ issues slowed down Yukon cell network

By: The Canadian Press Posted:

Advertisement

Advertise with us

Bell Canada president Mirko Bibic says the company takes complaints from Yukon residents about poor cellphone service in the territory "extremely seriously."

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/07/2024 (760 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bell Canada president Mirko Bibic says the company takes complaints from Yukon residents about poor cellphone service in the territory “extremely seriously.”

Bibic responded to a letter sent by Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai this week to the company, expressing frustrations about poor cellphone service in the territory where the company is the dominant player.

He says in a letter of response that Bell investigated once it was told about the problems customers were having, and found that there were “congestion issues,” partly due to greater usage on the network.

Mirko Bibic, president and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada, speaks during a CRTC hearing in Gatineau, Que., on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. Bibic says the company takes complaints from Yukoners about cellphone service in the territory
Mirko Bibic, president and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada, speaks during a CRTC hearing in Gatineau, Que., on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. Bibic says the company takes complaints from Yukoners about cellphone service in the territory "extremely seriously." THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Bibic’s letter says upgrade work also may have caused some people to experience “intermittent disruptions.”

It says the company will “monitor the situation” to avoid similar issues in the future, and adds that Bell is investing $22 million over three years to expand its network in Yukon.

Pillai’s letter to Bibic on July 25 outlined several issues angering Yukon residents, including dropped calls, delayed text messages and “patchy internet connections,” and how reliable cellphone service is needed in emergencies because it “can be a matter of life and death.”

“Bell needs to live up to their obligations mandated by the (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) and do better,” Pillai’s letter said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2024.

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Report Error Submit a Tip

Advertisement

Learn more about Winnipeg Free Press Advertising solutions

More Stories

PAUL MCKEEN PHOTO From left: Christopher Dunn (as Rufus), Jacqueline Arthur, Janice Marple and Stephanie Schmid

Library opera shows let kids take control of the action

Conrad Sweatman 4 minute read Preview

Library opera shows let kids take control of the action

Conrad Sweatman 4 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

Virtually everyone would choose a treat over a mouldy sandwich.

But the youngsters attending Rufus and Rita in Winnipeg libraries often choose the latter.

The 25-minute opera, produced by Manitoba Underground Opera and showing in Winnipeg libraries until the end of August before touring rural Manitoba, has a lively choose-your-own-adventure quality.

“Let’s find out what happens when we let the kids take control, and they can tell us what story they want to know,” says Brendan McKeen, MUO’s executive director.

Read
2:01 AM CDT

Ukraine — does it need an election now?

Gwynne Dyer 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

“Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia,” said Mihaylo Fedorov, who was, until recently, Ukraine’s defence minister. “We must find a legal, safe and realistic mechanism which will allow Ukraine to renew its full democratic process even in the conditions of a long war.”

Seven years after the last election, some Ukrainians are demanding a new one.

The protesters who have been outside President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office on Ivan Franko Square since Fedorov was fired last month were still there the day after his nine-minute video went out on Aug. 18. However, they were not more numerous than the day before.

It has been seven years since the election that brought Zelenskyy to power in a landslide powered by widespread revulsion at the rampant corruption in the government. His popularity soared after the Russian invasion (90 per cent) and four-and-a-half years into the war, it’s still at 65 per cent. That’s why Fedorov’s bid to mobilize the people against him has failed.

The health of water

Dimple Roy 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

As World Water Week kicks off, I have been greatly heartened to discover that, right here in Manitoba and even across Canada, there’s a broad consensus that we need more — and better — solutions to the water crises we’re currently facing.

According to a new poll, nearly 73 per cent of Canadians believe improving water infrastructure is an urgent priority.

Unfortunately, this sense of urgency is clearly born from that fact that around two-thirds of Canadians have experienced water-related issues in the past five years. Here in the Prairies, the story is even more bleak, with one in three reporting experiences with water main breaks, nearly double the national average.

More than half of Canadians believe these problems are becoming more frequent — likely due in no small part to the ever-intensifying impacts of climate change.

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS A sign that says Rudy’s restaurant at the Manitoba Hydro building on Portage is closing sits outside the restaurant Monday, August 24, 2026. reporter: nicole

Another downtown eatery bites the dust

Nicole Buffie 6 minute read Preview

Another downtown eatery bites the dust

Nicole Buffie 6 minute read Yesterday at 6:23 PM CDT

Another longtime downtown Winnipeg restaurant has closed its doors, leaving another hole in the city’s core.

Rudy’s Eat & Drink announced on social media it was closing after 15 years in Manitoba Hydro Place but did not cite a reason.

“Cheers to the years of local beer, burger weeks, jets games, weddings, catering, stone soup week, DJ nights, charitable events and everything in between — we will hold these memories forever,” the post said. “The end of an era — but there’s always another chapter.”

General manager Mackenzie Robb declined to comment on the eatery’s closure. Rudy’s last day of service was on Friday.

Read
Yesterday at 6:23 PM CDT
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Daniela Smith-Fernandez, new company manager at Manitoba Association of Playwrights, in her Exchange Distric office. Smith-Fernandez has great ambitions for Manitoba theatre.

Thespian has lofty goals for province’s theatre scene

Conrad Sweatman 6 minute read Preview

Thespian has lofty goals for province’s theatre scene

Conrad Sweatman 6 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

Daniela Smith-Fernandez has had an eventful summer.

Her debut play, the verbose sex comedy Jean-François: plus que parfait premièred at the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival in July (earning 4/12 stars in the Free Press).

And just a week before, in early July, Smith-Fernandez joined the Manitoba Association of Playwrights as its new company manager.

“I don’t want inclusion to be tokenism anymore. I want people to be including Manitoba plays because they’re amazing, not because they feel like they should support local,” says the 41-year-old trilingual Chilean-Canadian artist. “(At MAP) I feel like I get to be myself in a way that definitely didn’t happen when I was working in insurance.”

Read
2:00 AM CDT
Ruth Bonneville/Winnipeg Free Press Winnipeg Coun. Russ Wyatt walks into city hall on Thursday, Aug. 13.

Making a clear code of conduct for Winnipeg councillors

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Making a clear code of conduct for Winnipeg councillors

Editorial 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

As Winnipeggers have recently been reminded in the case of Transcona city councillor Russ Wyatt, not all codes of conduct are created equal.

Read
Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT