Telus officials have shut down an older version of their network and are encouraging its customers to upgrade to a 4G or LTE (long-term evolution) device.
In the meantime, customers who are still using the older devices are having troubles with cellphone and Internet service.
“We have turned down an aspect of our network which is the EBDO data service,” said Chris Gerritsen, spokesperson for TELUS. “We started communicating to our customers in October, November, started the gradual turndown in March and we finished that work at the end of May.”
TELUS officials launched a new, more advanced network in 2009 called the HSPA network, and launched LTE in 2012.
“It's older technology that's reached the end of its service life,” he said. “The data still works, however it would be slower or customers may have trouble connecting. So the 4G network – and we've got LTE as well – that provides faster download and upload speeds as far as when you're surfing the Internet or files or streaming video, watching YouTube or vine videos or whatever you like to do.”
Sundre resident Vern Maerz says the slow service is “absolutely frustrating”.
“We had Internet service at home and the cellphone reception was fair at best. We had a fob and they stopped service on the old fob that we had – they phased it out to get into a more advanced product I guess,” said Maerz.
“So we ended up with this Walway it's called, it's a fob, and what happened was we couldn't get any Wi-Fi service because it was not compatible with anything,” he explained.
“TELUS does not sell any product or didn't have any product that was compatible with it, so we had to order in a Wi-Fi system from Taiwan. That didn't work because the signal is steadily decreasing. So basically at home, although I'm paying full rate for my Internet service, I don't have service.”
He believes the system is overloaded, and the only way he is able to get service at his home west of Sundre is if he wakes up at 4 a.m.
“My understanding is that they are in the process of putting up a new tower or updating their tower to enhance the service, but nobody seems to want to give a date on it,” he said.
“They're not responding at all. I have done a survey online after I talked to them and requested that somebody from their customer relations department contact me and I've never heard a word from them. It's absolutely frustrating.”
He said people have told him when they call his phone it goes straight to voicemail and he doesn't receive any notification of a missed call.
“I think it's because the system is so overloaded that the call doesn't come through.”
A Facebook post on the Sundre and area buy and sell page last month about the slow service attracted hundreds of comments from frustrated people experiencing similar situations.
