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2012-06-28 at 15:46

TbayTel to spend more to improve network

By tbnewswatch.com
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Officials with TbayTel say the company is increasing planned spending this year to improve its 4G wireless network.

Company president Don Campbell said they are bumping expenditures from the now $5-to-$8 million, to $9.2-million in order to accelerate planned network improvements. 

That raises the two-year investment in the network to more than $35 million. 

So far this year, work has concentrated on improving coverage in core areas of the city.

The rest of the year will be devoted to non-core areas. 

 

(Thunder Bay Television)

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Comments

We've improved our comment system.
Marak says:
4G?!?!? That's joke number 1!!! Nothing like a 3G network that one day decides to call itself 4G!!

Joke number 2 is the fact that three of us at work have issues in both our buildings and in our residences with dropped calls and missing messages!!! We get incoming calls that go straight to voice mail and that is dead center in town! How about fixing those issues?
6/28/2012 4:17:19 PM
trent says:
This is very much needed. The data speeds you get from TbayTel's "4G" network are SLOW. I'm surprised they're even allowed to advertise it as 4G. When is Bell setting up shop here again?
6/28/2012 4:35:25 PM
Mazda323 says:
Improving coverage in core areas?? I know someone who lives a block away from a tower and can't get a signal in their living room. And yes, they are right smack dab in the city, not on the outskirts.
I live right downtown and the internet is so slow I might as well not even bother with it. Would be nice to have SOME service cause improving nothing, just makes well...more of nothing. Get it together TBayTel, Bell is on the horizon...
6/28/2012 4:39:51 PM
Doug Meyers says:
They likely need to spend even more if they hope to be able to compete in the future with the "Big Boys". They could also lower their rates and improve their service. Then customers, like me, who have moved to Shaw, who has much better service, might be able to consider returning to TBayTel. Stop "paying a dividend" to the City; why should phone, internet or TV customers pay a higher rate to fund this poorly disguised City property tax. Telephone, internet and TV rates should pay for those services only; property taxes should pay for City tax-funded services.
6/28/2012 4:42:46 PM
Ranma says:
Still no where near enough. The dead zones in the city are so frustrating. Metro in Grandview mall, TD Bank on Memorial, Superstore, Court and McIntyre area, just to name a few. And of course their usual response is "please bear with us and be patient as we fix the network" You know what, how about you bear with me and be patient as I decide whether or not to pay you for services you are not rendering!

And as for the speeds, I have found very few places in town where you can actually get over 40k a second on their "4G" network. At times their service is so bad I wish for the EDGE days with Rogers. At least then I knew it was going to be slow, but it worked. Now it's "oh is the page going to load, come on load, load. Dammit stupid tfailtel why do you suck so bad" And to make things worse, all the NIMBYs are ensuring Bell does not upgrade their network to give Tfailtel competition!
6/28/2012 4:45:19 PM
mightyconcerned says:
Tbaytel cell phone signals strength is absolutely terrible with newer cell phones. My old cell phone worked so much better. How can TBayTel implement a new network system that does not work after you pass through security at the airport? Why do so many calls go right to voicemail? TBayTel tells me I need to wait until the system is upgraded meanwhile I'm billed in full for partial service. Unfortunately this is a class action lawsuit in the waiting if I ever saw one. You don't implement a new system until it has been fully tested Mr. Campbell, customer service 101.
6/28/2012 5:12:07 PM
trent says:
I think a lawsuit could have merit. TbayTel advertises this "4g" network, but the actual real-world speeds customers receive is comparable to an old 2G EDGE network. Isn't this false advertising?
6/28/2012 5:51:35 PM
panzerIV says:
Its not false advertising. When these companies do the speed testing they do it under perfect conditions. So the speed they tell you is attainable with the best phone and under the perfect conditions.

Kind of like the mileage ratings you get for your car.

Tbaytel service doesn't work as well as advertised because of other people looking for bandwidth, buildings, phone quality etc. Tbaytel only has a certain amount of spectrum to run the service on and Ottawa has been slow at allowing more out for better service and signal.

Tbaytel was overloaded with smart phone data plans (the biggest user of data is the Iphone) overwhelming the system. This has happened all over the world and is continuing to be a problem. As a phone tries to find bandwidth they actually use more battery life and more of the system. Relief probably wont come till the 700 mhz spectrum is sold and even then it depends on how much Tbaytel can afford to buy.
6/29/2012 1:26:55 AM
The Badger Mountain Hermit says:
It seems everything here is FAKE. Fake politicians, fake job growth, fake city maintenance. Fake. Fake. Fake. Take. Take. Take.
6/29/2012 8:18:31 AM
Circular_Logic says:
I think I see the local legal firm of 'Huckster & Finagle' warming up to this issue.... possibly teaming up with 'Brother, Dewey & Screwem'!
6/30/2012 1:10:29 AM
student21 says:
what network?? ohh..... you mean the 70$ a month i pay for crappy service, dropped calls and unsent texts??
6/28/2012 5:46:00 PM
SomeRandomGuy says:
Tbaytel is a joke. I work for a local utility. in our office several (more than a dozen) have been with out the use of our phones since May. Absolutley unprofessional. We have been given excuse after excuse, given credits, analog phone for temporary use.

It is just wrong. Thunder Bay deserves to have some options for higher end phones. Really wish Bell, or some other company where here.

BTW, best excuse we were given, "When doing the work at the cell tower, the serviceman must have "bumped it" causing a dead zone in your area"

Laughable.
6/28/2012 5:55:53 PM
Geraldtonian says:
We need Bell Mobility....
6/28/2012 6:11:33 PM
Sandstorm says:
There's a class action lawsuit against Rogers in Toronto.. They launched a new service and it wasn't working. Half as fast as they said.. Didn't serve the whole city... Un reliable..but you pay FULL price and once you sign up they have loopholes out the yingyang to keep you there... Gee sounds ALOT like our situation with tbaytel...

What people really need to do is complain to the CRTC..get the government regulator involved then you'll see changes...CRTC.gc.ca... I've done it..but it'll take more than one complaint.
6/28/2012 6:21:33 PM
1234TB says:
...and the naysayers come out in droves! Instead of being negative we should congratulate our local company for addressing the issues with their network. I have travelled extensively and can tell you what Tbaytel is experiencing with service is not much different in other cities. If you think another company will be the ultimate solution you are all in for a rude awakening.
6/28/2012 6:22:43 PM
newshound says:
Who are you kidding, TBAYTEL is the most awful service ever. I lived in Toronto and Winnipeg and had great service. MY phone in Thunder Bay barely works, my text messages dont go thru half the time or they are delayed by hours, I call Tbaytel and they put in a ticket, yet the issues are still happening almost 2 years later. I pay over $100 per month for service that rarely works. Rogers or Bell would be an improvement big time! Koodo is $50 unlimited with long distance included.. cant beat that.. when my contract is over, Im gone Tbaytel, you can upgrade all you want, but your service still is terrible!! Everyone should cancel their contracts when they come up and move onto a more reliable provider!!!!
6/28/2012 9:20:11 PM
DougMyers says:
The naysayers are coming out because the service is sub par at a premium price.

I would put a conservative estimate at about 1/3 of my calls not going through, both incoming and outgoing.

My texts are sometimes delayed for hours, if not days.

Your travels must be very restricted as I have seen amazing service outside of TBaytels network.

We pay a hefty premium to have so called 4g service only to find we can communicate only slightly better than smoke signals.

This poor service has been happening for years now. The same excuse is given that the system is overloaded yet they continue to add to their customer base, thus making the issue worse.

Add to this the class action lawsuit against Canada's biggest cell providers for the "system access fee" which Tbaytel still charges.

Tbaytel, if they win that suit, you are next! Add in loss of service time as well.
6/29/2012 9:01:01 AM
Reignmaker says:
I tried to call Tbaytel to offer my support....unfortunately the only time they can be reached is if money is owed.

Then they look like Joe Pesci in The Super, never fixing anything but telling me to give them their money.

Can't wait for a better provider to show up. This is one of those cases where I won't shop local.
6/28/2012 8:06:17 PM
dad3192 says:
The rewards of being a monoply!! Maybe Watkins Law should launch a lawsuit against tbaytel for the crappy service they are providing (not providing?) at the ridiculous rates we pay!!
6/28/2012 8:53:05 PM
publicdomain says:
It's about time!!! With all the profits last year one would hope that they'd put some money into capital improvements, but I think it should be more!! I have written letters of complaint, went to the store and phoned multiple times...they assured us that the service would improve, gave us new phones, told us to take the batteries out to reset them and so on...bottom line, it was the network, not the phones. I have paid our bill religiously, but continue to miss more calls than I receive. Calls continue to go strait to voice mail and why on earth with 4 or 5 bars do I get the message emergency service only at random times of the day and night??

My contract is up in July and I am contemplating abandoning cell phones entirely regardless of these updates. Too little too late for tbaytel.
6/28/2012 9:55:59 PM
jay-ded says:
"Congratulate a local company for addressing the issues with their network?!?!?" HA! Why would I applaud Tbaytel for continually gouging their clients, and continually getting away with it? I live 1.5km away from one of their towers - I routinely drop calls. Since April 2011, I have been paying the overinflated cost of a network that was falsely advertised as "up & running" - and have spent the bulk of that time without active service. In the past year, I have had the monthly enjoyment of arguing with their company regarding erroneous charges on my bill (apparently calling local numbers on a competitor's network can be construed as "long distance"). Last week when I called to ask why the service is worsening, I was told that it is due to "congestion and geography." These improvements are too little too late; giving their loyal customers some consideration when finally confronted by competition is a very POOR way of doing business. After 12 years of being gouged, I am jumping ship.
6/28/2012 10:10:44 PM
debt collector says:
Must have a busy day at the coffee shops around town with all you negative Nellies coming out of the woodwork.

I learned a long time ago the most vocal, tend to be the least likely to pay their bills. In fact, I'm willing to bet most of you are on my collections list.

I'll be seeing you soon. :)
6/28/2012 11:38:23 PM
Joey Joe Joe Jr. Shabadoo says:
in town, service is so/so @ best, but because i can still get service near beardmore in the summer, i cant really complain all in all.
6/29/2012 12:41:11 AM
Glyder says:
Heard on the radio today that they are going to be working on the "dead" zones, like the airport, hospital and having a roving cell tower for events. How about the Intercity area? That would be nice. Oh, its too congested. Give me a break.

Goto Minneapolis, and see how they do their network. 5 full bars in the bottom of the MOA. THunder Bay, stand 100 m from a tower and watch your bars yo-yo up and down, culminating in a SOS.

6/29/2012 8:45:39 AM
kkkkkk says:
Koodo.....have had it for 3 yrs...no problems, cheaper, no contract, great phones...and tehy tell me they use the same towers as Tbaytel...hmmm. No dropped calls, texts go thru, fantastic coverage all over...drop Tbaytel I think is the solution here...
6/29/2012 8:51:09 AM
ALK says:
I went to TBay Tel to upgrade my phone and the lady told me that I would have to join the new network, and I asked her "is this the one that everyone is complaining about" and she shyly looked at me and said "yes"! I could tell she was embarrassed, trying to sell a crappy service. She didn't seem surprised when I said I would keep my phone and stay on the old network. I never have missed calls or unsent texts. I don't have a cool new phone but at least mine still works!! lol
6/29/2012 8:58:35 AM
grs says:
Amazing, simply amazing. If all you complainers go to Safeway and buy some apples, only to find out they taste terrible, do you still go back to Safeway and continue to buy the apples? Do you threaten a class action suit against Safeway for selling bad apples?

Tbaytel is providing a service. If you don't like it, don't buy it. But please don't buy it and continue to pay for it all the while bitching and moaning. And threatening a class action suit? While you voluntarily pay for a product? Please. Do you also threaten restaurants with a lawsuit when you receive poor service?

Before everyone responds with 'but it's an essential service' (and I truly believe that those people also think Facebook is an essential service), what did you do a few years ago when there was no 4g, no 3g, only analog?

If you don't like it, don't buy it. But if you take the attitude with Tbaytel that you portray here you'll be given that same attitude back and have a tough time cancelling your contract.
6/29/2012 9:33:54 AM
DougMyers says:
I am not stuck in a contract to buy apples from Safeway.

I am in a legally binding contract with Tbaytel, one that they have not held up their end of the contract.

Tbaytel advertised and assured us that their then 3g system was working and fast, it is neither.

If I bought apples from Safeway and they were bad, they would gladly refund my money and then some. The same cannot be said for Tbaytel.

This does not even include the constant issues with my homebased internet service. For me, they are the only game in town for that :(
6/29/2012 1:42:36 PM
trent says:
I've already switched my home phone and internet to Shaw. The only tie that remains with Tbaytel is mobile, and once that contract is up, I'm gone! Too little too late.
6/29/2012 3:19:26 PM
stuck? says:
Oh grs.

Don't use the "don't like it don't buy it" part because us old rogers customers were FORCED over to tbaytel. I sure as hell didn't want to switch but I had no choice.

Couple that in with what was excellent service turning to crap with the flick of a switch, and repeated lies and false information given to the new customers.

I signed up with a new contract because I WAS TOLD BY TBAYTEL REPS that if I got a new phone that the compliance problems that I currently had with my old BlackBerry Bold would go away. eg. no more dropped calls, missed text messages, 1 bar service etc etc.

Immediately after signing the brand new contract, every single one of the problems I had with my old phone were still present.

There is an option to cancel the contract sure. And 400$ is way less than 2-3 years paying for service. Where else do you go now that Rogers is gone? and CDMA carriers are to be left high and dry when Tbaytel ditches CDMA?
6/29/2012 1:43:39 PM
Slyder says:
So... just putting this out there. companies like Koodo.... what local cell infrastructure do you think they are using for their service? As well, when Bell make an appearance, what kinda of service do you think you'll get when their local infrastructure is lagging years and years behind the established TBayTel? Use your heads for a second. sure there are dead zones and dropped call, but go to any city, and there are similar issues. The problem is with infrastructure. It needs to be built and upgrade. 35 million in two years is a pretty healthy investment. Also, 45 buck for voice data and unlimited texting until the end of this month, and they will buy out your old contract. Very reasonable pricing. I have no idea why anyone is paying more then that unless it's for business and you have large data usage (you you like to sit in the mall and watch youtube videos all day I guess).
6/29/2012 9:43:27 AM
S. says:
Koodo uses the old system/towers (the CDMA ones) and that is why their network is tolerable. TBayTel uses new ones that aren't finished/properly working. This is also why old TBayTel phones (the ones without SIM cards) work just fine. The possibility for the new system to work DOES exist, TBayTel just can't seem to figure it out. And yes, I do think Bell will be able to do better because they are, in essence, putting in their own system. Unless of course all the NIMBY idiots stop them from putting up working towers. This problem goes beyond "dead zones and dropped calls". This is straight up my phone does not work 70-80 percent of the time. Use YOUR head: that is not how it works "in any city".
6/29/2012 3:15:38 PM
Slyder says:
I really don't understand how we can live in the same city and you don't have service 70-80% of the time while I deal with an occasional dropped call (similar to what all the people I work and play with experience). I think the tbaytel hate is just reaching a critical mass and everyone is jumping on the band wagon for some reason. I call horse do do on your claims. 70-80%.... BS.
6/29/2012 9:09:54 PM
S. says:
Koodo uses the old system/towers (the CDMA ones) and that is why their network is tolerable. TBayTel uses new ones that aren't finished/properly working. This is also why old TBayTel phones (the ones without SIM cards) work just fine. The possibility for the new system to work DOES exist, TBayTel just can't seem to figure it out. And yes, I do think Bell will be able to do better because they are, in essence, putting in their own system. Unless of course all the NIMBY idiots stop them from putting up working towers. This problem goes beyond "dead zones and dropped calls". This is straight up my phone does not work 70-80 percent of the time. Use YOUR head: that is not how it works "in any city".
6/29/2012 3:17:44 PM
Gimic says:
What people should do is get a class action lawsuit against them for false advertising and also for having a monopoly on cell etc in the area, might as well jump on the lawsuit band wagon seems like a good time with one already starting up over the flooding.

Tbaytel's service is not even close to even 2G speed and the prices are incredibly ridiculous for the crappy service they provide. I would love to jump ship but I live outside of Thunder Bay where there is no other service provider available that covers up to Greenstone and as far towards the Sault.
6/29/2012 10:08:17 AM
unknowncronic says:
it should be "4 gheez" if anything...

1st dropped calls, gheez!
2nd bad reception, gheez!
3rd call goes directly to voicemail, gheez!
4th such high prices, gheez!
6/29/2012 10:58:12 AM
Tom Sanderson says:
Boohoo :)
You all are crying because your cell phone doesn't work properly. I guess you all won't go out into the wilderness ever again because of the umbilical corded cell phone won't work.
Cell phones are status symbols and everyone walks around looking at their phones ignoring the world around them. Were you a mover and shaker before cell phones? If so you managed your affairs back then, it worked, revert problem solved.
Ordinary Joe doesn't need all that 4G garbage for anything other than impressing their friends. So if you are not running a business you don't need that unnecessary expense do you? What is so important that you need instant access to the internet? Oh I forgot, you have to come to tbnewswatch.com to complain about the latest current events.
You are not important people, and if you really think you are you would cover your business butt and only use land lines to conduct your affairs.
6/29/2012 11:17:23 AM
DougMyers says:
Totally wrong and I am not sure where you get off calling us out like that.

First off, I likely spend more time in the wilderness than you and don't need my smartphone to do it.
No one needs a 4g phone, I have it for convenience because Tbaytels crappy home internet in my area is super slow, 4g SHOULD be faster than a land based line, alas not in this case.
My phone is not a status symbol and is in fact in my pocket unless I want or need it.

Finally, I signed a contract with Tbaytel that says I will pay my bill and they will provied a service. Unfortunately they have not held up their end of the contract and there is nothing I can do about it.

So yes, I am complaining on line and I have ever right to do it. If there system was not able to handle the large amount of customers and provide service where they say it does that is not my fault but their's. They should have worked that out prior to signing people up on long term contracts!
6/29/2012 1:39:40 PM
Tom Sanderson says:
I'm not calling anyone out Doug. I'm just saying it the way it is. A cell phone is a convenience item, not a necessity. The issues with cell service have been there since the beginning and yet people sign on the dotted line knowing what they are getting into. Everyone knows it's easier and cheaper to get a divorce than get out of a cell phone contract.
The problem people make when signing up for these contracts is that they give Tbaytel a credit card number. Once you authorize someone to bill your card you are screwed. Pay your bills in cash and if you have a problem with your service\product you can refuse to pay until you have the problem rectified.
If you are out and about and want to go online, go to some place where there is free wifi and knock yourself out. That is if your phone is wifi capable.
Everyone lived happily before cell phones and now everyone is crying the blues.
6/30/2012 10:06:40 AM
The Badger Mountain Hermit says:
Yes, I bet you're perfectly happy with your morse code telegraph set, Grampa.
6/29/2012 7:34:13 PM
Tom Sanderson says:
Beats the hell out of your tin can telephone.
PS. Don't try to determine anyones age, sex etc. from an internet post because you are way off on your assumption. :)
6/30/2012 10:22:25 AM
brandnewlow says:
my phone always works better outside of town.
6/29/2012 11:26:35 AM
stuck? says:
I've been telling Tbaytel (unfortunately ever since I've been FORCED, YES FORCED OVER to their services) and nothing is fixed yet.

Time and time again when I called to let them know of my problems, they just kept telling me it was my problem because I had an old phone. They did end up suckering me into getting a new phone with the promise that the problems would be gone.

Alas, the exact same problems persisted.

I did get 1 bar more at home, and now I can make/receive calls a bit more frequently, but that's completely sub-par.

Paying full price for terrible service, and once you hit one or two $50 credits they told me they can't do anything more for me except give me 25% off of my voice and 25% off my data for 6 months.

Labelling the network 4G is an absolute joke and could be an outright lie. I have heard from a few people that there is no 4G network, just branded that because of some reason. No source or anything just hearsay.

Obviously doesn't feel like 4G though.
6/29/2012 11:37:42 AM
whodo says:
Good to know I'm not missing much.
I do not have a cell phone. I couldn't take the frustration.
It will be the good old land-line until I have an option.
6/29/2012 12:26:39 PM
whodo says:
Oh what's a few dropped calls...your gonna get a new ice arena!!!
Oh what's a few feet of sewage...your gonna get a new ice arena!!!
6/29/2012 12:37:47 PM
Gimic says:
What people should do is get a class action lawsuit against them for false advertising and also for having a monopoly on cell etc in the area, might as well jump on the lawsuit band wagon seems like a good time with one already starting up over the flooding.

Tbaytel's service is not even close to even 2G speed and the prices are incredibly ridiculous for the crappy service they provide. I would love to jump ship but I live outside of Thunder Bay where there is no other service provider available that covers up to Greenstone and as far towards the Sault.
6/29/2012 1:17:40 PM
Fluffy says:
Let's get Watkins and sue!!
6/29/2012 2:03:24 PM
TheFloyd says:
I'm going to defend TBayTel. For one, they've invested money in rural areas putting up cell towers in places like Nakina and Manitouwadge. Haven't seen Bell or Rogers committing to supporting northwestern Ontario. Also, have any of you dealt with "customer service" with Bell or Rogers? Sure, TbayTel isn't perfect but at least you can actually go to the physical tech support people here. With the other guys, unless you can afford travel to India, forget it.
They're announcing improvements - why can't people just be thankful for that?
6/29/2012 2:32:32 PM
S. says:
To all of those saying "if you don't like it, leave it": Please understand that we don't all have the luxury of that choice! A huge number of us were doing perfectly fine with Rogers when we were unceremoniously sold to TBayTel against our wishes. We lost a lot of our features, we lost a lot of service, and many of us are now paying more. We are essentially locked into contracts that we didn't actually sign. So unless you would like to pay the early contract ending fee for me, please save your BS ultimatums, okay?
6/29/2012 2:43:01 PM
debt collector says:
What you fail to understand is that your beloved Rogers didn't want you anymore.

You had choices, you could have changed your number to a different city and stayed with Rogers while continuing to enjoy their extremely limited and archaic GSM service.

You could have walked away without penalty when the change over first happened. Tbaytel offered GSM customers 45 days to walk away free without penalty. I know a number of people who took advantage of this offer, only to turn around and sign back up under a spouses name with a new tbaytel number.

You could have ported to Telus/Koodo/DMTS or taken a loaner CDMA phone from tbaytel.

You made the choice to stay as did thousands other former Rogers customers, no one forced you to make this choice.

Please stop blaming others for YOUR choices!
6/29/2012 5:08:58 PM
trent says:
If Roger's old network was "archaic", what does that make TBayTel's current network - "extinct"? The truth is the old 2G EDGE network was more reliable than what we have now. I don't really care if I can get coverage in Pickle Lake or somewhere else up north, if my phone doesn't work in the middle of Thunder Bay, there's something wrong.
6/30/2012 12:53:33 PM
educator says:
You obvious have no idea what the term "extinct" means if you are using it to describe HSPA+ technology.

You also don't seem to have an understand of how technology works. Legacy technology will generally do certain things well, while lacking the ability or capacity to do others, hence the need for innovation and technological advances.

Technology is not an exact science, there are bumps in the road.

GSM and CDMA are dated cellular technologies whose time has come to an end. They were fine and did the job in the past when all people wanted from their cellphone was voice and text.

Customer demands today have clearly gone in a different direction with social media, file transfers and streaming placing heavy data demands on cell networks.

A few short years ago data usage was limited to a few emails and bit or browsing. Today's customer wants and uses massive amounts of bandwidth on sending and receiving attchments and streaming youtube and netflix videos.
7/1/2012 9:05:43 PM
Joey Joe Joe Jr. Shabadoo says:
dont get me started on Safeways' apples grs!
6/29/2012 3:46:13 PM
comeonnow says:
I can't help but notice how many people say they were "forced" to go to Tbaytel. How come no one is mentioning that Rogers left? How come no one is mentioning that we were all given the chance to cancel at that time, and walk away scott free WITH the phone we got from Rogers and not stay with tbaytel at all. If you chose to stay.....it was your choice...if you upgraded and got a new phone from tbaytel on a contract...again, your choice. So come on now...while your casting your stones, be educated at least.
6/29/2012 5:35:27 PM
fahrwud says:
OK, my turn to bitch.........

Not so much lousy service, as an inconsistent, unreliable, non-continuous, unserviceable, unprofessional cell network run by a company that has bitten off more than it can chew.

I guess TbayFail is a Rogers re-seller, with an agreement for Rogers access to the city and the old Superior Wireless network in exchange for worldwide access, but what's with the downgraded, yes, DOWNGRADED service?

Get bars, make a call, watch bars fade, call drops. Coupla months ago, I had service everywhere in the city and outside. Now I get better TbayFail signals at the US BORDER, surrounded by hills, than I do in many parts of town. Texts that don't go through until at least 4 pm every day, watching my battery fade as the phone hunts for a signal.
TbayTel, get back in touch with your public, and give your long-suffering customer service phone reps a raise before they turn on you too.
6/29/2012 8:50:54 PM
Dbenedic says:
I gave up with tbaytel and just wait till I get near wifi to do my stuff unfortunately.

Come on Tbaytel, let's get it working!
6/29/2012 10:30:46 PM
unknowncronic says:
its pretty bad when ...

TBAYTELS MOBILITY CONTACT NUMBER "807-626-CELL"

SPELLS OUT:

"80-roam-bell"



...lol


6/30/2012 12:17:53 PM
hotchoc says:
I do not know what is wrong with TBAYtel, I just know the cell service sucks.

The customer service when I call in is great and I like supporting our local utility, but this has been going on for quite some time.

I realize that Mill employees might be great at running a mill, but are the dozen or so former mill employees now in management positions at Tbaytel, really the best for the job? So far, no discussion on that topic.

The TBAYTEL board needs to step in and either fix the issues or get someone who can before our 20 million yearly dividend is reduced to 5 million because of people like me cancelling our cell phone contracts.

We are not getting what we were promised.
7/1/2012 4:30:54 PM
debt collector says:
Care to show me in writing what tbaytel promised you?

If you had bothered to read your contract before signing it, you would see cell service is not guaranteed.
7/1/2012 8:39:26 PM
hotchoc says:
Debt collector, are you serious.

You want me to produce a contract that says I am entitled to cell service. That is what I bought isn't it.

I am not getting cell service. I am getting intermitent cell service. When I bought the service, tbaytel didnt say here you go, that will be xxxx dollars...
By the way. You do realize that you will have countless dropped calls, poor reception, no signal in the middle of the city, all for the low payment of xxx dollars a month.

I purchased cell service. I am not getting it. What I am getting is cell service some times and each time I have a dropped call, it adds minutes to my bill. So I am being charged for something I am not receiving.

But you missed my point. The service is so lousy that they risk losing thousands of customers. What will our tax base be then without that dividend. That was the point along with the point that perhaps mill managers don't necessarily make good phone company managers but no one wants to talk about that.
7/2/2012 11:43:19 AM
debt collector says:
What makes you more qualified than the Municipal Services Board when it comes to determining whether the former mill employees are capable of running a telecommunications company?

I await your list of qualifications.
7/2/2012 3:09:18 PM
hotchoc says:
ahhh debt collector. Do you intentionally mislead or just have trouble reading.

I didn't say I was right. My first posting asked the question. No one is talking about it.

Many former mill employees, including the head of TBAytel are there while this company is providing ineffective or worse cell and television service.

I am not saying they are to blame. Perhaps there are other reasons. I am saying they are in charge while this is going on, and it should be part of the discussion.

The same board hired Peter D. and said he was the best. They fired him before two years. They now have hired this guy who has brought in many of his former staff from the mill.

If you think that this is not worth debating, that is fine. I do.

I did not say I was better, or more qualified. I said it should be part of the discussion. To simply accept this terribly inadequate service, risks the multi-millions this city depends on. You don't seem to care. I do.
7/2/2012 8:55:44 PM
davidtbay says:
Well it seems practically everyone is not happy with TBayTel's service. Why advocate that they to hire an external party to perform an operational audit? They should never feel ashamed or feel it is a sign of weakness to go outside for help. If we did that with our sewage system, we might have avoided all the issues there.
7/4/2012 11:55:03 AM
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