A fire last month at a SaskTel building in Spiritwood knocked out phone, internet, and cellular service in the area. It also knocked out 911 service. That meant anyone needing police service had to drive to their local police detachment. Cellular service was back within a couple of days. Steve Roberts is the Acting Vice President Operations for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency. He says the 911 program has three answering points across the province that provide redundancy. If one is unavailable, the calls roll over to the other areas. There is also a temporary repeater site switching unit that can be brought to specific areas, as was done in the Spiritwood incident. The Agency also works with SaskTel should the Crown Corporation have an issue with a tower or with communication in an area. Roberts says the idea is redundancy so that, when there is a disruption, its short-term.
Protecting 911 From Loss of Service
Sep 3, 2020 | 10:28 AM















