{"id":9256,"date":"2016-12-06T19:31:04","date_gmt":"2016-12-07T02:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=9256"},"modified":"2019-04-24T20:52:57","modified_gmt":"2019-04-25T03:52:57","slug":"enode-langford-residents-still-at-odds-with-telecommunication-giant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=9256","title":{"rendered":"eNode : Langford residents still at odds with telecommunication giant"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><a style=\"font-size: 16px;\" href=\"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/88019goldstreamGNG-TelusFollow-KE.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15043\" src=\"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/88019goldstreamGNG-TelusFollow-KE.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"725\" height=\"483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/88019goldstreamGNG-TelusFollow-KE.jpg 725w, https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/88019goldstreamGNG-TelusFollow-KE-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 725px) 100vw, 725px\" \/><\/a><\/h1>\n<div id=\"storyFeaturedPhoto\">\n<div id=\"storyFeaturedPhotoDesc\">\n<p>Langford residents J Scott (from left) and Corinne Marley are joined by Central Saanich resident Norm Ryder and Colwood resident Sharon Noble to discuss a new petition Scott is circulating online relating to the installation of microcell transmitters on utility poles around the region.<\/p>\n<div><em>\u2014\u00a0Image Credit: Katherine Engqvist\/News Gazette Staff\u00a0<\/em><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">by\u00a0 Katherine Engqvist &#8211; Goldstream News Gazette<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Greater Victoria &#8211; posted\u00a0Dec 6, 2016\u00a0at\u00a02:00 PM<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"storyBody\">\n<p>Langford resident J Scott and a number of her neighbours on Fairway Avenue took the step of petitioning Telus to remove a microcell transmitter installed on a utility pole on their street.<\/p>\n<p>But roughly a month after Scott forwarded that petition to the corporation, she said Telus crews were back to install another transmitter further down the road.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce it\u2019s on the pole you have no control,\u201d Scott said. \u201cI just stood out there calling whoever I could.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She went down the list of Telus representatives she had spoken with in the past, calling every number and supervisor she could find.<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, she said, the technicians working on her street received a call from a supervisor and were\u00a0 apparently told to stop what they were doing.<\/p>\n<p>A bracket and some wiring remain on the pole where crews were working, but the transmitter was not installed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I hadn\u2019t been here \u2026 they would have done it,\u201d she said. Roughly a week later, she added, another Telus crew was back on the street and told her they were there to inspect the pole. \u201cIt\u2019s insulting. It\u2019s really insulting,\u201d she said. \u201cI explained to them we had an issue \u2026 and they didn\u2019t listen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The experience has led Scott to band together with other Greater Victoria residents to launch a new petition online. \u201cWe\u2019re organizing to help educate people,\u201d she said. \u201cI get so mad because they treat you like you\u2019re stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Corinne Marley, another resident on Fairway Avenue, has switched her service provider in the meantime. When Telus contractors started installing the fibre optic line on her street, Marley specifically asked workers what the transmitter was \u2013 not knowing at that time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey told me it wasn\u2019t a Telus contraption \u2026 and I should call B.C. Hydro if I had a problem with it,\u201d she said. \u201cMaybe they didn\u2019t know, but they were out there with a Telus truck \u2026 they should be in the know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After doing some research and speaking with Scott, Marley said, \u201cI\u2019m very clear on what it is now and it\u2019s not a smart meter.\u201d But she still wanted to hear from Telus, so she could make an informed decision with information from both sides of the debate.<\/p>\n<p>After speaking with different Telus representatives, Marley noted, \u201cthey told me not to worry about it because the way it was pointed, the signal was going down the street.\u201d But she claims to have had a hard time getting any specific information from Telus about the device, or answers to her concerns about its safety.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy bottom line is they\u2019re not being forthcoming \u2026 I value customer service and honesty,\u201d she said. \u201cI understand the technology moves along and I support that \u2026 but why aren\u2019t they telling us when it\u2019s outside our bedroom window?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for Telus takes issue with the residents\u2019 characterization of how they\u2019ve been handled by the company.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is both unfair and untrue to suggest that we aren\u2019t listening to the concerns of residents who have contacted us,\u201d said Richard Gilhooley.<\/p>\n<p>He said the company has reached out to Fairway Avenue residents by mail to address their concerns, and has provided information about the safety and regulatory oversight of microcells. He noted representatives have also spoken to several residents by phone about their concerns.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile these residents may not like microcells, the reason we\u2019re doing this is in response to increasing local demand for wireless service in Langford and the surrounding areas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe microcells are installed on Telus-owned utility poles to enhance wireless coverage and capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Telus\u2019 first priority, Gilhooley added, is to place such equipment on existing infrastructure instead of constructing new wireless towers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith small sites on utility poles, we\u2019re able to boost coverage with a minimal impact on the landscape \u2013 they are only about one square foot, about the size of a briefcase, and are very low-powered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He reiterated the technology is safe and overseen by Industry Canada and Health Canada.<\/p>\n<p><em>katie@goldstreamgazette.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.goldstreamgazette.com\/news\/405052116.html\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">http:\/\/www.goldstreamgazette.com\/news\/405052116.html<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Langford residents J Scott (from left) and Corinne Marley are joined by Central Saanich resident Norm Ryder and Colwood resident Sharon Noble to discuss a new petition Scott is circulating online relating to the installation of microcell transmitters on utility poles around the region. \u2014\u00a0Image Credit: Katherine Engqvist\/News Gazette Staff\u00a0by\u00a0 Katherine Engqvist &#8211; Goldstream News [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,103,368,370,139],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bc","category-canada","category-enode","category-langford","category-telus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9256"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15044,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9256\/revisions\/15044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}