Is Citywest celling HSPA phones yet? Can you get an iPhone at Citywest yet?
I’ve heard from 2 people, and read the thread on here, that says that the Bell / Telus HSPA network is on in Rupert.
Has anybody been by Citywest yet? Are they still selling CDMA phones or are they now selling the new stuff? Or does the Bell / Telus HSPA network have anything to do with Citywest?
I don’t know about the Citywest end of things, but the Bell / Telus network is definitely on and working in Rupert.
According to the Bell and Telus websites, HSPA/HSPA+ aren’t supported in the Prince Rupert area.
telusmobility.com/en/BC/hspa … maps.shtml
bell.ca/support/PrsCSrvWls_Cvg_Travel.page
HSPA/HSPA+ is available in the Charlottes on both networks though…go figure. 
Well, it’s definitely on in the Rupert area as well.
hackingthemainframe.com/smf/inde … 852.0.html
Minesmoria has it working on a Bell phone, and it shows up as an available network on Rogers phones as well. I just checked again 30 seconds ago, and it’s still there.
Weird that there hasn’t been any announcement.
Edit: Here’s the map from the Telus page. The Bell one is similar, shows no HSPA in Rupert. You’re right about that, Hoser. Good to see HSPA in Hartley Bay!
But clearly it’s here and it’s on and it’s working. I wonder if it’s just a testing phase or something? Remember when Rogers came to town, their network was on and working before it was official.
Anyone have the scoop?
Edit 2: just wanted to quote this 'cause it’s an awesome typo.
[quote=“sandimas”]
Is Citywest celling HSPA phones yet?[/quote]
I had a conversation with a citywest employee and i was told they dont want to pony up the hundreds of thousands of dollars to updrade their CDMA network
Right, except that the CDMA network in Rupert apparently doesn’t belong to Citywest, it belongs to Bell subsidiary Northwestel. Citywest has turned off its CDMA network, right?
But like I said, HSPA is on and working in Rupert on Telus / Bell’s GSM ID (302880):
From what I understand - and I may be wrong - Citywest shut off their analog network, but has never had a CDMA network. They have been using Bell’s (Northwestel) CDMA network. I see from the following Wiki link that while maintaining its own CDMA network, Bell Mobility uses Telus’ HSPA+ network:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ca … _companies
So Bell’s HSPA service may reflect Telus’ investments in cell infrastructure on the North Coast, rather or more than their own - hence (perhaps) the similarities between their maps. What technology Bell has, but Citywest apparently lacks, to access HSPA is not clear.
As for HSPA service on QC Islands, I see that earlier this month Telus completed a $850,000 tower over there, which is intended to improve a transition to 4G technology. Interesting to see a project of that size in a market that is less than half the size of Rupert.
I am pretty sure that Citywest had their own CDMA network before their recent agreement with Northwestel. Just no data services.
The HSPA network was built by both Bell and Telus. Bell in Eastern Canada and Telus in Western Canada. They share a GSM id and allow each others customers to use their networks transparently. There’s a technical term for it, sort of like a virtual network operator.
Yes, that would appear to have been the cellular network that Citywest “turned off” with the related assets being “written off” in 2008 after uncertainties over its 2007 agreement with Nothwestel were resolved (see 2008 financials, Note 5). Meanwhile, the analog network was written down (2007 financials, Note 5) and finally shut down on Nov 2 as per a media release.
That makes sense and would explain why Bell and Telus HSPA phones work here, and in most of the rest of the country. Between them they can compete nationally with Rogers on coverage and now technology.
The only remaining question seems to be that since a Telus/Bell HSPA network is locally available, why is Citywest not part of that?
Perhaps the absence of HSPA phones has nothing to do with the network. Perhaps Citywest has not reached agreements with smartphone manufacturers. Or perhaps CW is a bit slow on the uptake, as they seem to have been when data services came on the market.
Wouldn’t it be nice if someone from CityWest would read THIS link and provide some information?
You’re apparently working on the principle that a communications company knows how to communicate! 
… or perhaps that a company that underlines “Local” on the slogan over their door knows how to communicate as effectively as behemoths like Telus/Bell and Rogers.
If anybody at Citywest wants to send me anything to post on here, either officially or unofficially, feel free to send it to me and I’ll post it: miguel@menino.com
Otherwise, you’re more than welcome to create an account and post it as well.
How is Bell a local company if Rogers is not?
Rogers sells their phones at a local store (Eastwind?). Bell sells their phones at a local store (Citywest).
What’s the difference? Does Citywest run the cellular network, or does it belong to Bell? If it belongs to Bell, then it’s not exactly local, is it? Or is my logic wrong here?
Citywest is owned by the City of Prince Rupert.
Rogers & Bell are owned by corporations in Ontario & Quebec.
I don’t have a clear answer to who actually owns the Citywest cellular network, Bell or Citywest.
“Just to be clear” (as Steve Harper is fond of saying) I was referring to the sign over the entrance to Citywest’s store about being the “Local” (underlined for emphasis) communications company.
You have a point. If CW shut off their cell network in 2008 and entered into an arrangement to use Bell’s network (as their auditor reports) how local is it?
What seems to be local is that CW does not sell smartphones or access to the Bell/Telus HSPA network. It evidently rents access to Bell’s CDMA network, which I imagine Bell will continue to support for a while.
Perhaps what Citywest does not want to ‘pony up’ (see Omega’s post above) is not the cost of an HSPA network, ie infrastructure that it would own, but the cost of renting access to the Bell/Telus network for a higher standard of service.
My new bell iphone works fine here, but my friends telus phone wont work propwer here at all!
Is your friend’s Telus phone a CDMA phone or a new HSPA phone?
I know someone with an older CDMA phone from Telus (with a 778 area code) that works here. It has a Port Edward number.
[quote=“sandimas”]
Is Citywest celling HSPA phones yet? Can you get an iPhone at Citywest yet?
I’ve heard from 2 people, and read the thread on here, that says that the Bell / Telus HSPA network is on in Rupert.
Has anybody been by Citywest yet? Are they still selling CDMA phones or are they now selling the new stuff? Or does the Bell / Telus HSPA network have anything to do with Citywest? [/quote]
Since Citywest is only acting as a sales office for Northwestel IMHO… IMHO I’d advise not to hold your breath for either HSPA or iphones until the Yukon and NWT has the HSPA network and supporting infrastructure rolled out.
Bell/Telus’s HSPA network is on and working in Rupert. Right now.