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Sooke to Port Renfrew will have full cellphone coverage by April

‘Dead zone’ along a 70-kilometre section of Highway 14 to be eliminated
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Rogers Communications says cellphone service between Sooke and Port Renfrew will be up and running by April 1. (Shutterstock.com)

You can say goodbye to one stretch of dead zone on your cellphone this spring.

Rogers Communications says improvements in cell service between Sooke and Port Renfrew will be up and running by April, eliminating a dead zone along a 70-kilometre section of Highway 14. The towers will provide 5G coverage along Highway 14 surrounding Otter Point and continuing west to Port Renfrew.

Five towers that provide coverage from Sooke to Minute Creek have been installed, with the two remaining towers expected to be completed by April, although a specific date hasn’t been determined. One completed tower is near Sooke, with the others in Shirley, Bear Beach and Bear Beach North, and Minute Creek. The height of the towers is between 40 and 60 metres.

Although the provincial government had previously indicated the work would be completed by October 2021, supply issues and construction delays pushed the project back.

Ron McKenzie, technology officer for Rogers Communications, said in a statement that thousands of people would welcome the additional coverage.

“We are proud to light up service along this stretch of Highway 14 as we work to improve wireless connectivity for drivers and emergency responders,” he said.

Funding for the project was included in a one-time $90 million grant to the Connecting British Columbia Program as part of the government’s Stronger B.C. Economic Recovery Plan. Rogers Communications received almost $5 million to construct cellular tower infrastructure.

RELATED: Vancouver Island south coast cell phone fix pushed back to 2022



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