Proposed Telus tower in Southside

The Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako (RDBN) has received a referral from Telus regarding the construction of a communications tower in between Ootsa Lake and Takysie Lake. The intention is to improve wireless communications service in the Keefe’s Landing Road area.

This site already has an existing tower in place, however it will not meet technical or network requirements, so Telus is proposing to replace it with a 48-metre-tall wireless communication tower. In December, Telus published a public notice in the Lakes District News as part of consultation with the public about the proposed project.

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In addition, notices were sent to every owner of property within a distance to the proposed tower equal three times its height, which in this case would be a radius of 148 metres. The consultation period ended on Feb. 18, and according to Telus’ report, there were two positive responses that came out it.

One responder said that they have no objection to the tower, but asked whether the tower will improve communications services for residents on the west end and north shore of Francois Lake, which Telus is currently looking into.

The other responder also approved, and asked if the tower will be for both cellular as well as home internet services, which Telus confirmed.

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After discussions by the RDBN board of directors during a March 31 meeting, the board came to the conclusion that they have no concerns regarding the location of the proposed communications tower, especially given the poor quality of wireless communications service for Southside residents.

The RDBN board approved a motion to send a letter stating that the RDBN has no objection to the proposed communications tower location. Furthermore, the letter will state that the the board of directors would like to engage with Telus regarding service levels and a potential opportunity to collaborate in relation to the RDBN’s broadband strategy.