Tag Archives: Victoria BC Canada

Can You Hear Me Now?

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My Google Nexus S phone has been cutting out and dropping calls all week. It’s been embarrassing.

I thought it was my phone. I was getting ready to reset my phone, and the next step would be returning it.

Tonight I joked on Facebook, “it’s sad that I get better call quality from web Google Chat to landline then over Fido/Rogers Mobile network.”

Within minutes I had a half dozen responses from other friends here in Victoria that they have had the exact same experience including:

  • No reception inside
  • Even with 5 of 5 bars calls cutting out
  • Phones affected including iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, my Android phone, and Blackberry Torch.

Other friends also said they were about to return their phones!

The common thread is that we’re all on the Fido / Rogers Wireless Network and on 3G.

The workaround seems to be to disable 3G, ie switch the phone to 2G.

This severe mobile service degradation doesn’t seem to be an isolated incident. I haven’t yet found any information on this issue on either Fido’s or Rogers’ sites, or on CFAX or Times Columnist Victoria news sites.

Anyone have more information on this issue? And when it will be resolved?

2011-12-12 Update:

The problem has gotten much worse. My wife’s phone has been completely nonfunctional since yesterday. On the iPhone 4s you can’t disable 3G, so unlike with my Android phone, there is no relief available. We neither have the old phone nor the old SIM card.
Here is what Fido Support wrote in  ”livechat” with me just now:

Thank you for your patience! Apple has installed software that prevents going onto the Edge (2G) network. And this, there are presently intermittent reception issues with 3G in certain regions of Canada at the moment

The 3G towers are owned by Rogers, and they have not released an ETA at the moment. It is a high priority issue, but again, it is intermittent (and in more than one location)

I’m sorry, but we don’t make this information public. We (at customer service) have had only one update (as of this morning) which is the one advising us to suggest trying the Edge network periodically during the day.

This is not in the slightest bit intentional, and we do apologize about the inability to turn off 3G on an IPhone (again, Apple has theirreasons for this). I can only suggest your wife put her old SIM in her old phone for the time being, until the 3G is clear again.

Each Season

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I had an amazing time snowboarding yesterday up at Mt Washington with my father-in-law, B.

It was a last minute trip made possibly by our flexible schedules.

The conditions were incredible. A light layer of fresh snow on a solid base. Not windy. Sun poking through for much of the day. I’m told it was more winter skiing than spring.

There were no line ups. B made the point that people are already well into their spring thinking, and have left the mountains behind. The awesome sunny days we have had contributes too.

It was great to see so many elders skiing. You aren’t old, if you’re active.

It’s been many years since I last boarded, and I barely shook off the rust yesterday. Thankfully, my legs are not feeling too sore today.

It made me think of other favorite activities I’ve left behind, and how important for mind, body, and relationships, it is to do the activities each season. Of course, it also made me think of all the many new fantastic activities I now share with my family.

Victoria Police Excessive Tasering

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While doing some reading about alleged Victoria Police Officer Sgt. Chris Bowser excessive use of force. I came across Norman Farrell’s blog Northern Insights. One of his articles “Multiple offenders” includes (emphasis mine):

“Another interesting element of [Solicitor General Kash Heed audit] report discusses use of force after the killing of Robert Dziekanski by four RCMP members. The audit indicates that Taser use by the Victoria police service declined 85% after policy changes in the aftermath of the YVR death. Interestingly, records show no increase in reports of officer injury. We had known about usage creep in recent years as more stun guns came into service but a drop of this magnitude indicates that previous use was excessive and, given officer injury stats, unnecessary.”

That is really unsettling, and incredibly sad that a person had to die to get sensible protocols.