How bad is the service? Mayor Brad West said in a social media posting that home phones are making a comeback in some areas
Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West has gone public with his demand for telecoms to fix what many residents say is shoddy reception in the city
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“I have heard from many residents frustrated by poor reception in parts of the city — so much so that home phones are making a comeback in some areas,” West wrote in a recent social media posting. “I know many have complained to their provider, but nothing has changed.”
More than 200 people commenting on West’s post reported weak signals in numerous neighbourhoods across the city, regardless of which cellphone provider they used.
Dominic Long, Port Coquitlam’s director of community safety and corporate services, said telecom companies have been informed about areas of the city where coverage is been deficient.
Poor reception has been an issue for at least the past few years, West said, highlighting that Mary Hill, Mary Hill Bypass, Citadel Heights, Shaughnessy, and Pitt River neighbourhoods “really stick out” for residents.
“We pay some of the highest costs in the world when it comes to mobile phones,” West said. “It’s not cheap to have a cellphone, and I think it’s pretty frustrating for people when they’re paying a significant amount of money, but then service is very unreliable in their homes.”
He said he has raised the issue previously with Telus, adding the publicity generated by his post spurred both Telus and Rogers to request meetings with the city to discuss the problems further.
“I think they acknowledge that there’s issues and challenges,” West said. “The question is going to be, what can be done about it?”
A Telus spokesperson said that the company has spent more than $28 million in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody in 2024 as part of a $17-billion investment to expand and improve its network infrastructure and operations across the province.
They confirmed a meeting has been set with West later this month to “understand his areas of concern, discuss planned improvements already in motion, and explore further potential solutions that will enable us to meet the community’s increasing demands for connectivity.”
A Rogers representative said the company is “committed to delivering a reliable, consistent wireless experience for our customers.”
West said the city is willing to help telecoms to help solutions, including things like allowing cellphone infrastructure to be installed on city land.
“When I say I’m gonna put my shoulder into it, I’m gonna really put my shoulder into it, because I do think it’s important to people in this city.”
Patrick Penner is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with the Tri-Cities Dispatch. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.