Telus temporary phone lines exposed

Times Contributor

 

Telus representatives Errol Gordey, Southern Alberta Director of Planning and Engineering, and Area Construction Coordinator Chris Macdonald stood before Wheatland County Council to address concerns over the company’s negligence with installing permanent phone lines and leaving temporary lines exposed for years on end.

“It is a matter of capital budgeting process and there are a lot of competing priorities,” said Gordey.

He went on to explain that there is a $4.8 million budget divided over 54 counties in southern Alberta. He further explained that the company sets a higher priority on urban and business sites and population density determines work priority standing. 

“Telephones to everyone’s house is just as important if one person is on the line or if many people are on the line,” said Councilman Ben Armstrong. Many areas in the county rely on landlines because no cell phone service is available. 

The company laid out 14 kilometres of permanent line last year and just over 14 kilometres of permanent line was done. He said there are separate crews for each of the following processes: laying the temporary line, digging in and installation of the permanent line, and follow-up cleanup, and there are often delays between the various stages of installation. If the county has construction to complete, temporary lines are laid until that construction is complete.

“We try to respond in a timely manner and coordinate our work with the county construction,” said Gordey.  “We try to avoid laying out temporary line where possible.”

The cost of laying the line is about $30 per metre. The company does not allot budgets for digging the permanent lines and cleanup in the same year the temporary line is laid, so there is no guarantee that the money will be available to finish the permanent line in any one year. Each stage may cross over several years of budgeting. If a temporary cable is not on a major line, work is deferred, as there is not as great a return on the company’s investment.

Gordey stated that there were areas of the process that were under the responsibility of other agencies. Gordey indicated The Ledcor Group of Companies did the permanent line replacement. Ledcor only has one permanent crew and two temporary crews for the Wheatland area. The crew to plow the lines is located in Calgary.

Prior to digging, county crews call First Call, so no line breaks will occur. Gerry Van Oostwaard, County Public Works Superintendent, said once the call is made, it is only good for 14 days. He stated many times the period has lapsed before anyone came out to mark the lines, so they had to initiate repeated calls. He said it was helpful, if coordination were in place to have a phone lineman on hand during digging, to repair breaks if necessary. 

When asked by council whether there was a timeline of two or three years to permanent line completion, Gordey replied “the hard business fact is no.” 

Councilman Ken Sauve noted that he is aware of temporary lines which have been exposed for over five years.

“Over a five year period, cutting the grass in and around the line and being charged if the cable is cut, gets a little old,” said Sauve.

Councilwoman Alice Booth stated that everyone in rural Alberta paid a $500 fee for each phone to have permanent lines installed and there should be money available to install, and bury, permanent lines and clean up the old lines.

In the last year, Telus has made available to new customers a Smart Hub, which does not require use of landlines. However, there were issues with contacting 911 services in rural areas and some people may not be in range of a tower to get service.

Council asked that Gordey take their concerns to Telus’ financial division and provide written feedback as to how the ongoing issues will be resolved and continue working closely with the Public Works department to improve service.