Sketchy network service

[peepmo]

I have moved to lower Gibson's BC and lose the network every time I go inside my ground floor suite. I don't have wifi calling and the nearest tower is quite far away and way up the hill. I called fido but all they can recommend is to buy a signal booster but I really don't want to spend $500+. They can't even tell me which booster they recommend! I'm in a rented condo so where would I put the antenna? There's no access to the roof and no way to connect an antenna to the booster which stays indoors. Now I just have to wait until my new phone is paid off (Nov 2020) and switch to Telus. Rogers needs to add towers in this area! Telus rules the entire sunshine coast until that changes.

[Cawtau]

Hello Peepmo,

  Welcome to the community!

  You are correct, there does not seem to be many Fido/Rogers cellular towers in the area (see here).

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@peepmo wrote:... Rogers needs to add towers in this area! Telus rules the entire sunshine coast until that changes.

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  The issue isn't necessarily as simple as Rogers adding cellular towers in the area. Often, it is the residents in the area who oppose the erection of cellular towers. For example, the Township of Langley has a specific telecommunication tower policy which eventually rejected Telus' proposed cellular towers in the area (see here). More recently, residents in Crescent Beach raised health concerns over a proposed cellular tower in their area (see here). More relevant to your area, residents of the Parkland subdivision in Gibsons spoke out against the proposed Rogers cell tower in that area (see here). Clearly, there needs to be discussion and evaluation with your municipality regarding the need for additional cellular towers.

  It does appear that Telus has more cellular towers in the area. If you have roaming enabled on your phone, it might be able to connect to one of those towers as Fido-EXT (Extended coverage). I understand connecting to extended coverage might not be a solution since there are limits as to the amount of its usage (the majority of usage must be on the Fido/Rogers networks).

  With regards to a signal booster, there are different styles of signal boosters. Some of them use antennae which don't need sophisticated installation and merely attach to a window. I do understand there could be a significant cost in obtaining a signal booster. If you do consider getting one, you would need to ensure that it boosts the proper bands/frequencies. You can verify the compatible bands/frequencies here.

Hope this helps 😀

Cheers

[peepmo]

Thanks for your reply. I have been using the fido EX but it too disappears as I enter my condo. I will look for an antenna that attaches to the window but in the meantime I have downloaded an app (messenger) that lets me make wifi calls with no problem. Even the LTE discovery app doesn't tell me which band I'm on as it can't detect anything in this area. It's like we're at the bottom of a bowl sitting next to the ocean with a hill surrounding us. There is resistance to new cell phone towers here also. At this point, with the amount of radiation all around us, I don't believe it makes much difference anymore but who knows? 

[FidoKenny]

Hey @peepmo

Really sorry to learn that you trouble using the network where you stay.

I actually checked our coverage map and your device should be working just fine in Gibson BC.

We do hope that you decide to keep your service with Fido.

Did you get a chance to try your Fido sim card in a different device to see if you get the same result?
 

Also, do you have any other Fido customers around you that have exactly the same problem where you are located?