A map of the area between Prince Rupert, Terrace and Kitimat
Communications

Motor vehicle crash knocks out internet/cell service to much of Northwest

By Kaitlyn Bailey,  Prince Rupert Northern View, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Some residents in northwest B.C. were without internet and phone service the evening of Oct. 18.

A motor vehicle accident took out several utility poles and caused a break in the Telus fibre optic cable that runs west from Prince George to Prince Rupert.

“Please be advised we are aware of a network outage impacting home and wireless services in the areas of Terrace, Kitimat and Prince Rupert B.C.,” Telus stated on Twitter on Oct. 18 just after 7 p.m.

CityWest, the utilities company owned by the City of Prince Rupert, relies on the Telus fibre optic line, as do most telecommunications companies in the region.

“We tried to work with the Internet service provider that manages those poles on our behalf (and other Internet service providers) to try to restore service as quickly as possible. But the accident was extensive and it took time for the repair to occur,” Tanya Jenkins, vice president at CityWest stated in a press release on Oct. 19.

E-Comm 9-1-1 took to social media to advise northerners facing life-threatening emergencies to dial 911 in case service is available and otherwise to go to the doctor, police or fire department if able.

All services were back to normal by the morning of Oct. 19.

Earlier this year, on June 7, a tree felled by a beaver damaged the same fibre optics cable and left residents from west of Prince George to the coast without internet, landline or cellular service for over eight hours.

Communities in the northwest are vulnerable to these types of outages because they all depend on the same cable.

However, this is likely to change as a result of the Connected Coast project, CityWest stated.

Connected Coast, managed by a partnership between CityWest and the Strathcona Regional District, is laying down a fibre optic cable from Vancouver to Prince Rupert, along the sea floor.

As of Sept. 29, the $45 million project was one-third complete, with just under 1,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable laid.

“The Connected Coast will provide the North with another path for online traffic, so it can be rerouted if a link is damaged. After completion, many communities in the North and along the coast will have a redundant connection, providing more reliable services,” CityWest stated.

Black Press Media reached out Drive BC for more information on the motor vehicle accident and to BC Hydro and Telus for further comment.

Top image credit: Communities in northwest B.C. experienced a network outage after a motor accident caused a break in the Telus fibre optic cable on Oct. 18. Screenshot of Google maps

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