Lack of service in Burnaby BC

[EdmondsBurnaby]

My home is at Kingsway and Edmonds in East Burnaby/New Westminster BC. There is very spotty cell service here. It's in the middle of the Lower Mainland/Metro Vancouver. Why spotty service, it would be like Etobicoke not having service. I have problems talking with Doctors and friends. In coming calls don't always get through to me. Why if Bell is Canada's largest network then why spotty service or is your slogan a lie?

[BellAntgio · Accepted solution]

Hey there @EdmondsBurnaby,

Welcome to the Community.

Topography, environmental conditions and line of sight to towers can affect signal strength.

When facing network issues, there are a few troubleshooting steps to complete:

• Make sure your device is updated to it's latest version.
• Assure your SIM card is not damaged in any way.
• Is the issue happening indoors, outdoors or both?

If the issue is mainly happening indoors, a great feature to activate would be our Wi-Fi calling

You may also find our How To article Troubleshooting voice calls on your Bell Mobility phone helpful. We'd also recommend checking out our How To article on Troubleshooting data connectivity on your Bell Mobility phone

Looking forward to hearing back from you.

[AlexS]

Etobicoke in bc? only know district w/ the same name in toronto

[Annoyes]

As title says. Either there is “2 bars of 5G” with absolutely no connection, or just straight up no bars. 

absolutely terrible connection for the price paid, been this way for 2 years now. 
i have called multiple times over the last 2 years, and nothing has been fixed. 

[paulc]

Dear Bell/Telus/Virgin service provider employees. Please do not send your default response because it’s not helpful and does not show you care. It’s hard to document network issues but as everyone here has said, locals or when riding the Skytrain, the signal betwewn Royal Oak and 22nd St is bad. No internet connection, the device shows 2 bars or no bars and it’s pretty much dead. It’s hard to believe there is no report of this issue prior to this ticket. What steps have you, as provider, taken to investigate and fix the issue? It’s been bad ever since I joined Virgin last year and for my daughter who is on Bell for 3 years and my wife on Telus. Hope something can be done. Thanks!

[dks]

Well, I’m not a Bell employee and have never worked for Bell. All I can suggest is to follow the ideas of Bell staff. Cell phone service is a radio signal and is affected by many factors, including electrical interference on public transit. 

[paulc]

Thanks @dks for your contribution. I agree with you but the trouble is that the advice did not provide any assistance or resolution. It just said why it might not work, which is not satisfactory. What we'd like to hear is how Bell could investigate and fix the network issue around that area. I did try all of the steps I could many times, the network does drop out right after Royal Oak going east and picks up at 22nd St. It happens every time I travel eastbound or westbound, every day. I have a dual SIM setup with Rogers and their signal and connection works flawlessly in that area, on the train or outside. If you know how to help us bring this issue up to a place where we might get someone's attention, that would be very helpful.

[dks · Accepted solution]

My understanding is that Bell staff do pay attention here. However, specific fixes, especially for the cellular network can take many, many months if not years.

Why?

Cellular phone frequency spectrum is auctioned by Industry Canada. Tower site leases have to be negotiated and procured. Engineering studies have to be completed for Industry Canada approval. Equipment has to be sourced and procured. Connecting links with fibre and microwave have to be designed and approved. If a tower is involved, municipal concurrence or zoning approval may be required and the community notified. It's not just a matter of turning up the power or building a new tower, no matter how much we would like things to be fixed quickly. It it a long, legal, highly defined and very technical process. This is true for every cellular provider, not just Bell. 

That being said, one of the most valuable exercises a customer can do with poor cellular service is to use a cellular tower map to look at their community. Sometimes the explanation is right in front of us. 

In the case of Burnaby, BC, I looked at my favourite cell tower map  zoomed into Burnaby. If you remove all cell towers but Telus, with whom Bell has tower agreements west of the Manitoba/Ontario border, you can see there are a lot of towers along the route of the SkyTrain. There are also large gaps because of parks. The Telus cell sites are also higher frequency (LTE/5G) which has a signal which does not travel far, especially if there are interference factors (trees, buildings, geography, electrical interference). Other providers have fewer towers but they use lower frequencies, which can travel further. Perhaps that explains why you have better service from one provider than another.   

I may live half way across the country, but the issues you experience are common. I experience them on my commute to work, a 40 minute drive, too. The reasons I have outlined above come from 35 years of having a cell phone and trying to understand what is going on. A bit in the weeds, perhaps, but it is my own explanation for the variance in cellular service. 

The other thing that bothers me is the difference between the advertising copy and real world experience. I have learned to take advertising promises with a grain of salt and focus on what I can do to make my own experience better, whether that is internet, cellular service or satellite TV. And keep posting. That's a good way to get Bell's attention, even if they don't respond directly.