“The signals in this area are very poor which has been causing multiple challenges in communications for several years.”
After a community petition last fall garnered more than 1,000 signatures, Rogers has agreed to build a cellphone tower in northeast Calgary.
The 20-metre tower will be built in October on a vacant patch of land at 10960-42 Street N.E., on the west side of Metis Trail, across from the community of Cityscape.
“The signals in this area are very poor which has been causing multiple challenges in communications for several years,” stated the petition for a new cellphone tower, which ultimately amassed 1,042 electronic signatures. The petition claimed residents “have not received any infrastructure updates from the past eight years in spite of several requests.”
While telecommunications is within the federal government’s jurisdiction, northeast Calgary’s representative on city council says poor cell service is a recurring complaint when he goes door-knocking in newer communities like Skyview Ranch and Redstone.
“There was what you could call a consensus,” said Ward 5 Coun. Raj Dhaliwal. “Not a single person was like, ‘No, this is not an issue.’”
Calls start to drop as soon as you cross Country Hills Boulevard on Metis Trail, according to Dhaliwal, regardless of which provider is used.
The Calgary Police Association said last year that poor connectivity in the northeast can cause both incoming and outgoing calls to drop, putting emergency responders at risk of missing critical information.
It’s never been determined why that part of the northeast has more dead zones, despite the presence of a tower just five kilometres away, but Dhaliwal said one theory is that a high concentration of cellphone users in the region may be straining the nearest tower’s capacity.
A few residents have complained about the impending tower, citing unsubstantiated health risks associated with 5G cellphone towers, but Dhaliwal claimed the vast majority of area residents are pleased the infrastructure is coming.
“Overwhelmingly, people were relieved that help is on the way,” he said. “Ninety-six per cent were like, ‘yes we need it and this is long overdue.’”
“People are happy that now at least there will be less dropped calls and less interference during calls”