data from the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission<\/a>, 99.4 per cent of rural Alberta has access to mobile data. <\/p>\nMcNally\u2014 who works with the Alberta Rural Connectivity Coalition\u2014 says it’s concerning that the reality on the ground seems quite different. <\/p>\n
“Rural and remote communities have the most to gain from access to digital online services, yet they are the often the poorest connected,” he said.<\/p>\n
He points out that having the option of online classes or virtual health care can bring amenities to rural Albertans that would usually be a long drive away.<\/p>\n
Poor mobile network access can also limit opportunities for rural communities to attract tourists, new industries and new residents. <\/p>\n
“I have many colleagues in rural communities who say that often one of the top questions that realtors get is ‘What’s the internet like in this community?'”<\/p>\n
![\"Medium](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774873752_90_default.jpg\")
Town of Pincher Creek Fire Chief Pat Neumann says the town’s spotty mobile network is making emergency services’ job more difficult.
\n (Ose Irete\/CBC)Businesses, emergency services affected<\/p>\n
For businesses in Pincher Creek poor cell service means missed calls, and missed calls can mean missed customers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adair says she often doesn\u2019t realize just how many potential customers have tried to call her at Sugar Studios until she\u2019s on her way home and her phone starts buzzing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ll get a bunch of voicemails sort of on the same point of the road where the service kind of kicks back in and people have been looking for a service that day that I could have provided,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just businesses feeling the brunt of this.\u00a0The town’s fire chief says poor connectivity makes first responders’ jobs harder.<\/p>\n
Pat Neumann says his staff often get the basics of a case they\u2019re responding to via radio before heading out. The rest of the information is displayed on a computer system inside the ambulance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLots of times that system will crash or doesn’t properly update,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
EMS also rely on internet access to look up patient information when they\u2019re on the scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes the patient have pre-existing medical conditions that we need to know about? That is going to affect the way we treat stuff,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a pastor, Doug Iron Shirt says a lot of his work is helping people through hard times and that often means phone calls to check in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving these intimate calls with people, it’s kind of frustrating to try to help them, to encourage them but then you can’t get no connection,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Addressing network issues nationwide <\/p>\n
Iron Shirt says he wants providers to build more cell towers in and around rural communities. <\/p>\n
Oliver says when the previous council administration contacted a telecommunications provider, they were told the company hadn’t been notified about the issues by its customers in the area. <\/p>\n
He says residents need to get a hold of their providers directly. <\/p>\n
“If they get 500 complaints in the next three months, then maybe they’ll come to realize, oh, there is an issue there,” he said. <\/p>\n
Rural connectivity is also a national conversation. <\/p>\n
A recent private members bill <\/a>in the House of Commons aims to overhaul the act that oversees mobile networks in canada.<\/p>\nThe Spectrum Policy Framework for Canada Act was last updated almost 20 years ago. <\/p>\n
“It doesn’t have any kind of real strategy or focus for rural communities,” said McNally. <\/p>\n
If passed, the bill will require the CRTC to review mobile network coverage in Canada and make a plan to address connectivity issues in rural communities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jayna Adair takes pride in the range of services available at her yoga and wellness studio in Pincher…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[49,2798,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-570689","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-calgary","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-calgary","10":"tag-canada"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774873751_622_default.jpg\")
Sugar Studio owner Jayna Adair pictured in her storefront on main street in Pincher Creek, Alta. She says the area is a “dead zone” for cell service and mobile networks, which means she misses out on potential customers. (Ose Irete\/CBC)<\/p>\n