Prince George, B.C.- The comments made by the North Central Municipal Association about the loss of analog service are “ misleading and sensationalistic” say Telus’s Senior Communications Manager Shawn Hall.

 

The NCMA issued a release this weekend saying analog users in remote areas of the North have not been given any affordable options. “That is false” says Hall, “We have only heard from four residents who complained about the loss of analog and we have already visited 3 of the properties to see if a digital booster will give them service. We don’t have the analyses on those three yet and will be visiting the fourth property soon as we were only advised of that property on Friday.”

 

Hall says the loss of analog service is a national situation, and in most cases, giving the customer a digital   phone to replace the old analog version is all that has been needed. “The problem is, digital and analog signals move across geographies in different manners. In some cases, the analog system would travel a little further, but that is where a booster may be helpful.” He says there are only some pockets in the region that will have no service. 

 

Chair of the Bulkley Nechako Regional District, Eileen Benedict, was quoted in the release as saying this was a safety issue. Hall says that’s not fair “We have been working on this for the past year, and to suddenly lay the safety issue at our feet is sensationalistic.”  Hall says Telus can’t do anything about the fact “Not one single manufacturer is making analog equipment.” According to Hall, the NCMA’s actions seem to be “political opportunism heading in to a fall election.”

 

Hall says Telus is open to discussing any reasonable proposal for service, but spending $7-$12 Million dollars per cell site in remote areas is not on the table.

 

 

Telus has been meeting with Regional Districts throughout the province to bring everyone up to speed, and to address any issues. "Murry Krause ( president of the NCMA) was at the meeting Thursday with the Regional District of Fraser  Fort George and spoke with  the senior manager from  Telus" so Hall is left wondering why the NCMA is now calling for a meeting with senior Telus representatives to discuss its concerns.

 

He says there is also the possibility of bringing in land lines. “That is a project with Telus, the Federal Government and the customer sharing the bill. We have presented that to some communities who have rejected the idea.” He says for customers who cannot benefit from a digital booster, there is always satellite service “It has become much more affordable with a base cost $1500 dollars and $20 a month service fee.”  He welcomes all who are negatively impacted by the change to digital service to contact Telus so there is an accurate accounting and so Telus and the customer can try and come up with affordable alternatives.

 

The switch to digital service will be complete by the end of the month.