Thorhild residents without service weeks after cell tower vandalized

Some residents of Thorhild County have been without cell service since June when vandals tore down the nearest cell phone tower.

About 150 people in Thorhild County north of Edmonton are still dealing with little to no cell service nearly two months after a cell tower in the area was vandalized.

RCMP say vandals knocked the tower down in mid-June, stripping it of copper wire.

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Owners of nearby Erdmann’s Gardens and Greenhouses have been unable to make calls to customers on their cellphones for more than a month.

Most of the time, the Erdmann’s have one bar, but calls don’t go through and texts are delayed. Their landline is still set up, but most calls are considered long distance.

“Ten cents a minute you know, phoning these customers back where we used to be able to call them on the cellphone and you can phone nation wide,” said business owner Wendy Erdmann. “I think it should be done faster. A lot of people out here depend on their cellphones.”

Telus said it’s adjusting other towers nearby to provide the area with as much coverage as possible until the replacement tower is installed sometime in September.

“These deliberate acts of vandalism to destroy cell towers represent a significant challenge for our network operations and the communities we serve, disrupting critical service to residents,” said a statement from Telus.

The provider said cell tower construction is complex and requires months of planning, engineering and manufacturing, with costs ranging from $500,000 to over $1 million.

“The 300-foot tower destroyed in Anton Lake must be custom-built, and our team is working around the clock to have it complete as soon as possible,” said Telus.

While it is a Telus tower, other carriers use it to serve their customers too. The Erdmann’s are with Bell.

Connection has been a struggle at nearby Moose Wood Acres too.

Owner Kristina Krause said she has been paying Starlink $150 a month so she has enough internet to accept non-cash payments. She’s also still paying Telus through her mobile contract.

“They’re still not really willing to work with you or compensate you for it because it wasn’t a failure of their product,” said Krause.

Telus said it is not obligated to compensate customers for the outage — but there’s a possibility that could change.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) said it is considering adding the scenario to its Consumer Protections Action Plan.

“As part of this plan, the CRTC will soon be launching a public consultation to consider additional consumer protections, including clearer communications or possible refunds when Canadians experience an outage with their home internet, cellphone, telephone or television services,” said the CRTC in an email to CTV News Edmonton.

In the meantime, people in Thorhild are making due.

“You can’t get a call out,” said Krause. “There’s a spot in the middle of the field that works.”

Police estimate the damage to the tower is $800,000.