Some Eastern Shore residents went 30 days without phone or cellphone service - Action News
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Nova Scotia

Some Eastern Shore residents went 30 days without phone or cellphone service

For some Nova Scotians there were many long, dark days following post-tropical storm Fiona. On the Eastern Shore, the tangled mess of trees snapped many of the old and dilapidated poles, leaving some residents without landline phone service for thirty days.

'It's just totally unacceptable,' says one Ecum Secum resident

A worker is seen repairing a phone line in Ecum Secum.
A member of a work crew makes repairs to a phone line in Ecum Secum. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)

Many Nova Scotians faced long, dark days following post-tropical storm Fiona in late September, but none more thanEastern Shore residents who went without landline phone service for a month.

"We all had the same complaint, we weren't able to communicate with one another," said Donna Lepitzki, who lives in Ecum Secum. "The bigger picture here is this area is predominantly seniors and retired people who require, as we all do, emergency services."

Thearea is plagued with atangled mess of felled trees that snapped many old and dilapidated poles.While service was recently restored, repair crews are continuing their work on phone lines in the area this week.

With landline services down, residents had no phone communication at all because there is nocellphone service in large sections of the Eastern Shore. That meantno 911 calls could be made for an extended period and it's leading peopleto once again call for cell towers in the area.

A woman is seen typing on a laptop at her desk in her home.
Donna Lepitzki has been writing letters to local MLAs and Nova Scotia's premier about the lengthy phone outage residents recently had in Ecum Secum. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)

"In this day and age it's just totally unheard of," said Lepitzki. "It's just totally unacceptable, we're not living in a third world country here."

Shehas written numerous letters to area MLAsand Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston asking for more cellphone service.

The only cell provider with towers in the far eastern region of Halifax Regional Municipality and Guysborough County is Bell. In one section there is a tower in Sheet Harbour and another in Sherbrooke but nothing in between, leaving a large gap in cell coverage for several communities. It takes more than an hour to drive the distance between those two towers.

"It's very frustrating and if we had cellphone service it would open up communication that we just don't have here now," said Darrell MacDonald, who also lives in Ecum Secum and pays close to $300 a month in phone and cellphone bills. "We've been having lots of issues with our home phone lines with storms and power outages so that's why cell coverage would be ideal to have here."

Trees are seen cut away from phone lines after post-tropical storm Fiona.
Damaged trees on top of phone lines caused outages that lasted 30 days for some residents on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)

Nova Scotia's Economic Development Minister Susan Corkum-Greek says the issue of gaps in cell coverage is underdiscussionbut would not elaborate on whichcompanies are involved.

"Prior to the storm there were discussions around this topic and those discussions will be ongoing," she said. "We have a meeting next week with one of the major cell providers."

A spokesperson for Bell would not say how much a new cell tower costs, stating it is "commercially sensitive information." The company has been busy putting up several new towers.

"This year in Nova Scotia, Bell fully funded and turned on sixcell towers in Enfield, Cambridge, Martins River, Miller Lake, Cobequid (Londonderry) and Williamswood," said Bell spokesperson Katie Hatfield. "We also added additional cellular coverage with small cells in Digby, Chester and soon Coldbrook."

Hatfield says Bell will continue cellular expansion work next year but isstill assessing locations.

The top of a cell tower is seen in front of a clear blue sky.
Eastern Shore residents would like to see more cell towers built in their area, like this one in Sheet Harbour. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)

Eastlink did go on the record to say how much investment is required to install a new cell tower.

"On average, a single cell tower installation currently costs between $600,000 to$800,000 and in some cases more," said Jill Laing, Eastlink'sdirector of public affairs. "This is more than double and in some cases triple the cost from just a couple of years ago."

Laing says Eastlink has invested $350 million in building and expanding its mobile service in Nova Scotia. Their most recent additions are in New Ross, Blomidon, Centerville, Cambridgeand Salmon River.

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