Penticton city council fed up with ‘awful’ cellphone service

If you think your cellphone service is bad in Penticton, it’s not just you.

At least according to some city councillors, who not only complained about their spotty coverage but also decided to take up the issue with the federal government.

Coun. Isaac Gilbert said he has heard from numerous Pentictonites who, like him, have been dealing with repeated dropped calls. Council backed him as he called for city hall to find out when there will be more cell towers built.

One councillor showed his frustration in support of Gilbert’s notice of motion, complaining about several years of poor cell service in Penticton.

“At this point, it’s absolutely awful. We did some work behind the scenes a few years back to get some towers, and I know I personally have spoken on it a few times… let’s get on it, because this community deserves good cell service,” Coun. Ryan Graham said.

Gilbert’s now-approved motion calls for city hall to check with the federal government for the status of any permits to install new cell towers within city limits, while also asking Telus and Rogers about plans to improve their local wireless networks.

Council will also ask local MP Helena Konanz to help lobby for better coverage.

It’s difficult to compare coverage by cities, but some online programs use federal government data to map all the cell towers in the country.

According to CellTowers.ca, there are around a dozen 5G-capable towers within Penticton.

In Vernon, there are fewer than 10 5G towers in a city that has a few thousand more people and covers more than twice the area.

There are also around a dozen towers in Kelowna’s downtown and Lower Mission, similar to the amount in the downtown and North Shore neighbourhoods in Kamloops.

Kelowna and Kamloops appear to have better cellphone coverage with far more towers, but they are also larger cities and, for Kamloops especially, have more varied terrain.