HYLO - A new cell tower located in rural Hylo is hoped to clear 'dead zones' for cell phone users in the region.
Built and operated by Telus, the mobility tower was supposed to be operational in 2022, but officials with the communications company said that like many other industries, they have been affected by global material shortages and staffing issues.
"We have had significant delays in the construction timeline. We're all seeing those global supply chain issues, material shortages and labour shortages," said Mikayla Johnson with the company's mobility services.
Construction on the tower began in September, and while the structure and much of the communication materials are in place, a significant part is missing.
"We do have the tower up, we're just waiting for the power," said Johnson explaining that the project will hopefully be completed early in the new year.
Any additional costs associated with the tower delays will be picked up by the company.
The tower is one part of a multi-million partnership project between the communications company and Lac La Biche County. The partnership saw the municipality paying the company more than $6.5 million, and the company providing fibre optic services to every home and business within primary service areas of the community. The arrangement began in 2020, with final installations taking place at the end of 2021. Initially it was said that the partnership was saving the municipality more than 50 per cent of the actual costs to bring the services to the community. It was also said the cell tower near Hylo had a project cost of approximately a million dollars.
The cell tower was part of the agreement, bringing more connectivity to all corners of the municipality. Municipal official are still expecting that existing mobility towers will be 'turned' to provide more services to rural areas now that most of the urban areas are supported by what company officials refer to as a "backbone" fibre optic service.
Telus officials acknowledge that more can still be done to improve connectivity, but will not discuss the current extent of their coverage areas publicly. If and when more work will be done to reach more residents will be known when the company sets its capital funding priorities.
The final funding payment of the mult-million deal was paid to Telus late in 2022.