IT HAS BEEN nearly two weeks since Hurricane Fiona devastated Canada’s east coast, despite which some Canadians continue to be without telecommunications services.
This is not because service providers failed to plan ahead or because restoring service was not prioritized. Rather, it goes to show just how bad the storm was when it hit.
“Hurricane Fiona was the biggest storm ever to hit anywhere in Canada,” a Bell spokesperson told Cartt.ca via email. “Our preparations ensured our core networks remained largely operational throughout, but the damage to our infrastructure in the field is the worst we have ever seen in this country.”
Other service providers we reached out to including Eastlink, Xplore, Rogers, Telus and TPIA provider Purple Cow Internet also spoke of the magnitude of the storm and what they were up against.
They described the hurricane as “unprecedented” and referred to its “resulting devastation” – power outages, downed trees and utility poles were all mentioned. (See photos above and below.)
All the service providers we contacted indicated they began putting plans in motion to deal with the impact of the storm before it hit.
Establishing contact with provincial emergency management offices and others like Nova Scotia Power, testing backup power, fuelling generators and sending additional staff from other provinces to help were all common ways the service providers prepared for the storm. An Eastlink spokesperson noted in an email to Cartt.ca they also “drove and inspected over 1,500 kms of our fibre routes before the storm arrived,” and secured additional generators.
While efforts to restore service is on-going (Xplore, for example, has around 30 customers who still do not have service near Belfast, PEI as crews cannot safely access the damaged fibre lines yet, a spokesperson for the company said), the service providers emphasized the resiliency of their networks and the effectiveness of the plans they put in motion before the storm.
“The vast majority of our impacts have been power related and there was no substantial damage to our core mobile and wireline network facilities,” the Eastlink spokesperson said. “Not surprisingly, given the sheer magnitude of this storm, there were some fibre breaks but the redundancy we continue to build into our network did enable us to withstand these breaks making power outages and damage to our access network (wired lines to neighbourhoods and homes/businesses) from downed trees, utility poles and lines the predominant issues.”
Xplore also reported minimal impact to its network. “Overall, our Atlantic network held up well in the conditions,” the company spokesperson said. “Some parts of our fixed wireless and fibre networks in Atlantic Canada were impacted by downed trees, power lines and other hazards. However, the generators worked effectively, which allowed us to maintain service for the vast majority of our customers throughout the storm. We also restored service availability for most of the limited number of customers whose service was impacted by Hurricane Fiona within a short period of time.”
A Telus spokesperson said the infrastructure it owns “stood up extremely well throughout the storm.” The company’s “preparations ensured we did not lose power at our locations and the small amount of fibre damage was restored within three hours.” Additionally, Telus supported its network partner, “which owns the vast majority of the infrastructure in the area to deploy critical equipment, including generators and batteries,” the spokesperson said.
Bell indicated it is bringing in more technicians to get everything back up and running and their customers reconnected as quickly as possible.
Bradley Farquhar, president and CEO of Purple Cow Internet also said they have customers who are still without service.
Purple Cow Internet is a TPIA provider in Nova Scotia that works with Eastlink. The storm was much worse than they anticipate he said, noting they thought maybe 100 of their customers would lose Internet service. The actual number was over 1,100 though, 400 of which are still without service.
“It’s bonkers,” Farquhar said. “It was hard to tell what to anticipate… there’s still customers that don’t have Internet yet and it’s mostly because now there’s regions in Nova Scotia that just do not have their power back yet.”
A big part of Purple Cow’s strategy as a TPIA provider during the storm and afterwards has been focusing on ensuring their customer service is exceptional. They spent time sending out mass messages to their customers to let them know what was going on and to give them updates and information about timelines so they could have a sense of what to expect. They have also been working with their customers who still do not have service to figure out why that is and what they can do to help.
This customer-centric approach has led to an uptick in their customers, Farquhar said, explaining they have seen “about a 40% uptick in new sales” since the storm.
“At the end of the day, Purple Cow is here to try to create something special and unique that we don’t have from the big telcos,” said Farquhar. “Oftentimes, people don’t necessarily complain about the Internet – they complain about the customer service, the high bills, the lack of creativity or customer care that they get. That’s where Purple Cow comes in…”
At the same time, Farquhar said he does think everyone has been doing their best in the aftermath of the hurricane.
“I hope everyone understands that it was a pretty aggressive storm that would probably catch any telco off guard, and I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault, I think everyone’s trying their best,” he said.
Photos provided by Eastlink.
