Frustrations are growing over the lack of cell service, which is essential for staying safe and connected.
The Municipality of the County of Antigonish says they are approaching the issue by working with the Cellular for Nova Scotia Program.
It’s led by Build NS who is responsible for managing major infrastructure projects, including connectivity, on behalf of the provincial government.
They say they are committed to addressing cellular service gaps.
Their program has a current investment of $69.2 million to support the upcoming phases.
Phase 1 will upgrade to infrastructure at 27 existing tower sites and connection to the Rogers 5G network, including in Arisaig, Malignant Cove, and North Lochaber.
So far, 16 towers have been upgraded.
Phase 1A will see the construction of 27 new towers by the Department of Emergency Management.
Phase 2 will focus on expanding cellular coverage to areas that are currently unserved by upgrading the 27 new towers with cellular infrastructure to expand cellular coverage with new carrier owned towers.
When asked about declines in cellular service for areas that previously had coverage, Build NS notes this could be partly due to a federal government decision that required telecommunications companies to remove both Huawei and ZTE equipment from their networks and replace the equipment with alternatives, which may not provide the same performance level.
MP for Cape Breton, Canso and Antigonish, Jaime Battiste tells us that cell service is poor in rural counties all across Canada.
“We’ve heard from constituents that not only is the cell phone connectivity not getting better, it’s getting worse, and I’ve heard of some examples of people repurchasing landlines because their cell phone is not dependable anymore,” he remarked.
“What I’ve been telling people is we hear you. We hear that there’s a challenge, we’re trying to hold the private companies accountable, and that’s what we’re going to be doing in the new year.”
Battiste says that there’s two separate meetings coming up with telecommunication networks Bell and Rogers in 2026.
Build NS is collecting public feedback here.
Residents can also report unreliable or unserved cellular service here.
This follows Port Hawkesbury Council receiving complaints from residents about their poor cell service throughout town.
Their Council plan to write a letter to MLA Kyle MacQuarrie to gain his support and help.
