EDITOR:
Like many Islanders, we rely on cell phones to communicate with the world but recently one night, again there was no service. This is not uncommon in rural P.E.I. Often we cannot get service, those calling us get our voicemail or a call gets dropped (sometimes we can bounce off New Brunswick). With no service, it made me wonder what I might do if there was a medical emergency and I was home alone.
Would I try to drive somewhere if I was capable, or just wait to die? We have tried the main services or their subsidiaries. There are only three main services - Bell, Rogers and Eastlink - most others use towers belonging to either of Bell or Rogers. Eastlink was honest when last checked and told us that they could not guarantee service in our area, but hoped to have another tower. We are only 20 km from Summerside and about 8 km from Wellington, so it isn’t that far in the boondocks. Is it time to have an internet-based emergency service as well as 9-1-1?
Rod MacKinnon,
Mont Carmel
