Dismay, frustration as phone service disruptions continue across B.C.
People, companies and municipalities across B.C. are expressing alarm and frustration as phone service disruptions continue across the province for a second day.
Many have complained that telecom providers are providing little, if any, information about the full extent of service disruptions and when they might be over.
So tell us. You tell us how to spend money when we enter a foreign country, but you don’t message about a fill day outage. Shame on you Bell!<a href=»https://twitter.com/hashtag/shameonbell?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw»>#shameonbell</a><a href=»https://twitter.com/hashtag/wrongedbybell?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw»>#wrongedbybell</a>
—@BobHeyman2
All calls into your Bell support lines continue to fail and we were unable to report a service outage affecting our university campus since yesterday. Finally got through via chat today and got a canned response. We need status please. This is very frustrating
—@WencyLum
A very rainy January recently caused mud and landslides that damaged infrastructure across the province. Most telecom customers began experiencing issues early Saturday afternoon.
Bell said a third-party’s fibre line near North Bend, B.C., was damaged Saturday. As a result, some of its customers can’t call or receive calls from people on other networks.
By Sunday afternoon, Telus said on Twitter that it had «identified an issue impacting inter-carrier calls.» But some Telus customers said they didn’t even have a dial tone from their land lines.
<a href=»https://twitter.com/TELUSsupport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw»>@TELUSsupport</a> we have no dial tone, doesn’t seem like inter carrier problem?!
—@peterawolfe
Rogers Communications said a landslide damaged a fibre cable and caused the outage. It said calls between Rogers customers weren’t affected, but Rogers customers may have issues reaching people on other networks.
The telecom company’s internet services, which it provides for businesses, were also affected. Rogers said it is working to restore those services as soon as possible.
It’s not clear how many people are affected by the service disruptions, or if people are even aware of them. Bell said text messaging and mobile data are still available.
Municipalities and services that rely on phone service to interact with residents said the disruptions affected their ability to connect with people over the weekend.
Major disruptions to cell phone services are causing phone issues at city facilities and services.<br>If you are trying to get in touch with City of Vancouver:<br>· Try using our vanconnect app<br>· Try another cell phone service or a landline to call 311<br> Thanks
—@CityofVancouver
<a href=»https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCFHeadsUp?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw»>#BCFHeadsUp</a> Some customers are unable to reach our call centre due to a significant fibre cable cut between Vancouver and Calgary. We have been advised this issue is affecting Telus, Bell, and Rogers customers: More info here: <a href=»https://t.co/iJkD7W0Yc3″>https://t.co/iJkD7W0Yc3</a>. ^rj
—@BCFerries
We continue to have issues with our phone system. Our text service is not affected. Text 87.77.77 to reach Transit Police. Call 911 for emergencies. <a href=»https://t.co/OCqbRjkab9″>https://t.co/OCqbRjkab9</a>
—@TransitPolice
Businesses that rely on phone service also complained about the outages.
Our landline phones servicing a major shopping centre have been down since 2pm yesterday- this is impacting business continuity. I tried to chat with your service folks and I am still waiting and your 1888 customer service line is not in service
—@cheulaingor
B.C. RCMP said the issue was affecting non-emergency lines at several detachments, although the problem was not affecting 911 calls.
Please note that phone lines are currently down <a href=»https://twitter.com/BurnabyRCMP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw»>@BurnabyRCMP</a> detachment. <br><br>9-1-1 emergency calls are NOT affected by this outage. <br><br>Updates will be provided when detachment phone lines are back in operation.
—@BurnabyRCMP
Kelowna, B.C., resident Barb Teichreb was shocked on Saturday when she wasn’t able to get through to any emergency services in her community.
Teichreb said she called 911 after she heard a loud alarm going off in the mobile home park where she lives. She got through to the dispatcher, but she said they didn’t know where Kelowna is or how to spell it.
When Teichreb hung up and tried calling local RCMP offices and fire departments, she wasn’t able to get through to any of them.
«If this would have been an emergency I would have died,» she said. «I felt completely, totally useless.»
E-Comm 9-1-1, which manages 911 calls in B.C., said the call wasn’t put through to them, meaning the carrier likely put it through to the wrong place.
It’s not yet clear if that was a system-wide issue or one that just affected Teichreb.
