Greenfield among Nova Scotia communities to get cellular service in $18.6-million project

Nova Scotia Public Works Minister and Queens MLA Kim Masland announces cell service upgrades on Wednesday in Greenfield with Service Nova Scotia Minister Colton LeBlanc. (Rick Conrad)

It’s going to take a couple of years, but residents of Greenfield are finally getting cell service.

The Nova Scotia government is building 27 new telecommunication towers in unserved areas around the province at a cost of $18.6 million.

Public Works Minister and Queens MLA Kim Masland made the announcement on Wednesday at the Greenfield Fire Hall in north Queens.

She was joined by Colton LeBlanc, minister of Service Nova Scotia, municipal politicians and representatives from Build Nova Scotia and Rogers.

Masland said reliable cell service is a necessity and a matter of safety.

“We are adding to what is already the largest investment ever in cellular infrastructure by a provincial government. We are investing an additional $18.6 million to build 27 new provincially owned telecommunication towers.”

Last October, the province launched the $47.3-million Cellular for Nova Scotia Program. The province also announced $3.3 million last year to build four trunked mobile radio towers, which first responders use for emergency communication. The new funding brings the total investment to $69.2 million.

The province is also partnering with Rogers to upgrade infrastructure at 27 existing sites and connect them to the Rogers network.

“This will significantly improve connectivity for Nova Scotians over the next two years,” Masland said. “It’s what our province needs to keep pace with technology and population growth while improving safety in rural communities.”

The overall program is expected to connect more than 12,000 unserved civic addresses, which represents about 62 per cent of the more than 20,000 identified in a 2022 Cell Gap Study. It will also connect 562 kilometres of unserved primary roadways, or 56 per cent of the 1,010 kilometres of the unserved roadways.

The first four towers will be up by spring 2025, with the remaining new and upgraded sites ready between summer 2025 and spring 2027.

Some areas of the province, like Greenfield, are cellular dead zones. Residents and businesses have to rely on landlines or Wi-Fi calling.

The Greenfield work is expected to be completed by fall of 2026.

Fire Chief Moyal Conrad called it a “game changer” for rural fire departments.

“The public is going to be so much more protected with cell service in rural areas and with us being able to do our job easier and better,” he told reporters after the announcement.

Conrad said improvements to the mobile trunked radio network will also help departments like his serve their communities better.

“That trunk radio that’s what we do all our communications on. … All vital information goes across that. The Nova Scotia government is giving us (volunteer fire departments) all new radios this year, that’s another $100 million they’re sticking out there for us.

“This is very, very, very good news.”

Conrad said the lack of reliable cell service also affects recruitment efforts, at a time when it’s tough enough for rural departments to find volunteers.

“If you signed up today to be a fireman and you never got to a call, you’re not going to be very interested in coming. So the cell service, we’ll be able to put out more information. People will be able to know when there’s a call and they’re going to be able to respond.

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman said the municipality had been putting money aside in a special reserve fund to build their own tower for Greenfield, or to try to partner with the neighbouring Municipality of the District of Lunenburg.

“This is absolutely amazing, not only for Queens but for all rural counties, all rural places that do not have cell coverage which is so very, very vital.”

Masland told reporters that it’s taken a while to address lack of cell service in some areas because of the difficulty in doing the work in many rural areas of the province. She likened it to climbing Mount Everest.

“This is just the beginning. We’re working concurrently, not waiting to make sure that we can keep climbing. This is going to take time. We are finally a government that has put its teeth into this problem and we’re going to solve it.

“We’ll get these 27 up and like I said, we’re not stopping, we’re going to continue to climb to the top and we’re going to make sure that Nova Scotians have the cellular service they deserve.”

The 27 new towers will be added to the more than 60 the province already owns. Under its agreement with Rogers, the government is pitching in 80 per cent of the cost, while Rogers will pick up the remaining 20 per cent or about $3.7 million.

The ultimate goal is to have 99 per cent coverage for basic voice call service and up to 85 per cent coverage for high-definition service for things like high-quality audio or video, internet browsing, email and streaming.

Masland said the province will also be applying to the federal government for help with some of the cost.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com