Clarification of Pay-As-You-Go Availability

I wish to issue an apology and a clarification  to the blog on the new Heyden cell site.

The clarification concerns Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) phones. A PAYG will only work with the Tbaytel cell sites if the hardware is compatible with the Tbaytel network and Tbaytel has a roaming agreement with the PAYG service provider. 

If the hardware is compatible, there should be an indication of network connectivity i.e. some signal strength bars showing and dialling 611 will result in a recorded message from Tbaytel. The completion of normal phone calls will not be possible.

Funding for Desbarats and Echo Bay Cell Sites

NOHFC today made public the previously approved funding support for two Bell Mobility cellular telephone sites in the East Algoma area. The Desbarats site has been operational since December, 2010 and it is anticipated the Echo Bay site will be on-line by the fall of 2011. Both sites will use the latest 3G HSPA technology but will not be backwards compatible with the older 2/2.5G CDMA technology.

The Desbarats site has been well received by the residents in the coverage area, particularly for its ability to provide broadband (high-speed Internet) service as well as voice service. Please refer to the Bell Canada website for additional information about their broadband (high-speed Internet) data plans .

NetCentral, based in Sudbury, is lead Community Based Network (CBN) for the project. As the local Algoma partner ADnet provides the management coordination and local knowledge input for the sites which are located in the ADnet catchment area.

ADnet and NetCentral have been working initially with with NOHFC and subsequently Bell Canada for over 3 years to get the funding support in place. The process involved an open, transparent and competitive bidding process followed by extensive negotiations to ensure optimum benefits to the public.