Police are investigating after a cell phone tower near Daysland, Alta. was damaged over the weekend.
Mounties were called to the site of the Telus tower off Range Road 161 on Sunday.
“Our cell tower in Daysland was badly vandalized and collapsed on Dec. 21, disrupting wireless service for some Telus customers in the area,” Martin Nguyen of Telus said in a statement to CTV News Edmonton.
“Internet, TV and home phone services were not affected, and wireless 911 services remained available through other carriers, which meant customers could use their home phone or cell phones in the event of an emergency.”
Nguyen said service technicians and security personnel “were immediately sent” to investigate and are in the process of repairing the damage.
“To keep our customers connected, emergency roaming with a network partner was activated within hours, providing basic wireless voice, text and limited data services to our customers in the area,” he said.
“We have also deployed portable satellite equipment and plan to bring in a temporary mobile cell tower on Dec. 23. Our technicians are working around the clock to fully restore services as quickly as possible.”
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Motive unknown
RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Troy Savinkoff told CTV News Edmonton that investigators believe a person or persons cut one or more stabilizing wires at the tower, causing the tower to topple.
“Estimated damages at this time are in excess of $800,000 if not more, and that tower is thought to be out of commission, for many, many months while Telus repairs it,” Savinkoff said.
He noted this isn’t the first time this year a cell phone tower in Alberta has been damaged by criminals.
“Every act of mischief or theft has a different rationale. This one we don’t know yet,” he said.
“Sometimes these towers are targeted to grab metals out of the site, causing extensive damage, or if it was a blatant act of mischief by a lone person or part of a larger organized thing.”
Savinkoff says thefts of precious metals from industrial sites have been on the rise for some time.
“Suspects go out looking for precious metals in anything they can target, whether that be oil fields, Telus towers like this, and other wiring companies,” he said.
“It’s not just the [financial] loss.
“The site is dangerous. You could have an employee go into an industrial site, for instance, where wires have been exposed in the middle of the night. They have no clue, and now they could be electrocuted.”
Savinkoff says police don’t have any suspects yet. The investigation is ongoing.
Impact to the community
Daysland Mayor Wayne Button believes the incident was a senseless act of vandalism.
“The folks didn’t stay around for very long. It was probably -28 C at the time of the occurrence, and it didn’t appear that they stayed around,” he told CTV News Edmonton on Monday.
He says he was told it could be eight or nine months before the tower is repaired.
“I’d like to have services back right away, but we understand that it takes time to put these towers back up and we just appreciate the fact that they have deployed some resources to help us in the interim.”
He’s hoping the impacts to the community won’t be too significant.
“The health center is experiencing reduced functionality, and in contact with businesses, they are sharing similar results,” he added.
Mary-Jane Badry at Daysland Pharmacy says her customers are complaining because the lottery machine is down.
“That’s what they buy for Christmas. Tickets,” she said.
“It is an annoyance because it should have never happened.”
Daysland is about 140 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Marek Tkach
