HAZELTON, B.C. – Rogers Communications announced today it will deploy two more cellular towers as it accelerates construction on its project bringing wireless service to B.C.’s Highway 16, also known as the Highway of Tears.
Rogers announced last April it would be building new cell towers along Highways 14 and 16 to improve connectivity on these routes. For Highway 16, there is to be 12 new towers built – the first of which Rogers started construction on last December.
The first tower is to provide coverage between Prince Rupert and Prince George, while the two towers announced today will proved coverage along the highway southwest of Hazelton when they are completed.
The larger project is to “provide 252 km of new cellular coverage across Highway 16, closing key gaps to ensure continuous coverage along all 720 km of the corridor, establishing a safer environment for travel and fulfilling one of the 33 recommendations in the 2006 Highway of Tears Symposium report to enhance safety for Indigenous women and girls,” the press release says.
“When we embarked on this project last summer, we realized the power of our technology to help connect rural, remote and Indigenous communities along this route and what it meant for reconciliation,” said Jorge Fernandes, chief technology officer at Rogers Communications, in the release.
“We are humbled to be a part of this generational project and we hope that the safety provided by our wireless connectivity will honour survivors, victims and their families and communities and will provide peace of mind and opportunity for everyone moving forward.”
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Photo borrowed from Rogers’ website.
