Phone services disrupted across B.C., but emergency calls still working

Cellphone services for many British Columbians across the province, including local community services and RCMP non-emergency lines, were down for much of the day on Saturday and into Sunday.  

Cellphone services, including LTE connection and calls, were interrupted across B.C. for customers with a number of different carriers, including Rogers, Telus, Bell and Fido. 

Rogers Communications said a landslide damaged a fibre cable and caused the outage. Other carriers said they do not have specific details about what happened.

Into Sunday, Bell Canada was still experiencing disruptions with no estimated time of repairs. Issues include no service, disruptions placing and receiving calls, and dropped calls. 

B.C.'s 911 service says emergency calls from all carriers are getting through, but it advises people to use landlines when possible. The non-emergency line to some B.C. RCMP detachments and to the Metro Vancouver Transit Police were impacted. 

Several municipalities in the Lower Mainland are reporting problems with their landlines and asking people to be in touch over email, instead.  

Rogers Communications' customers reported issues with the cellular network across B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba throughout the afternoon. Service with the carrier was restored mid-afternoon Saturday, a spokesperson with Rogers said. 

Commercial internet remained down in the evening, impacting some organizations including the CBC News bureaus.