Communications infrastructure on backburner for Calvin’s mayor
The mayor of Calvin Township says communications infrastructure is an issue on any given day in some parts of the region, not just after a storm.
Richard Gould says one example is most maps on vehicle screens rely on high-speed data.
“Areas like Calvin, the south part of East Ferris and Powassan, there is no high-speed cellular coverage so as a result things like those maps don’t work,” he says. “I guess we have to pay a little bit more attention to that kind of coverage in the north.”
Gould says communications infrastructure is definitely an issue on his backburner in the wake of Saturday’s storm.
“That’s something that I’m adamant, that we need to improve our communications especially in rural areas just outside of North Bay,” he says.
Gould says regular and cellular phone service was impacted by Saturday’s weather event.
“The landline is completely dead and cellphones don’t work,” he says. “You’re going to say, well, how is he talking to me right now (Sunday). I’m running a generator outside my house which is powering Starlink, and I’m using Wi-Fi cellular calling to send and receive calls.”
Officials in Mattawa said cellular inconsistencies continued into Sunday night.
