We can hear you now...

Rogers has completed their expansion project along the Highway 16 corridor, announcing this week that the entire highway from Prince George to Prince Rupert is now in full operation, taking away the remaining dead zones that were in place during the introduction of Rogers service to the Northwest and Bulkley Valley regions.

Rogers has invested some 10 million dollars in its infrastructure for the region, providing some competition to the region and providing a vote of confidence in the future prospects for the communities along Highway 16.

The Daily News shared the details of the Rogers press release with a piece in Friday's paper.

Cell phone blackspots driven off the road
The Daily News
Friday, November 28, 2008

Page one

Drivers making the long treacherous drive in the winter on Highway 16 will no longer be doing so alone as Rogers Wireless announced that it will be providing full cell phone coverage to the highway from Prince Rupert to Prince George.

Rogers announced Thursday that it has completed the expansion of its world-standard GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) wireless voice and data network along the corridor between Prince George and Prince Rupert. The announcement marks the culmination of the company's recent $10 million investment in Northern British Columbia, which has made the Canadian wireless network accessible to residents and travellers along this key business route.

"Part of strengthening the economy of Northern British Columbia is investing in communications infrastructure," said Premier Gordon Campbell. "I appreciate Rogers' investment in connecting the communities from Prince George to Prince Rupert, and helping us to grow the economic opportunities in Northern B.C."

"Our goal with this network expansion is to offer a clearer choice to people living, working and travelling in Northern B.C.," said Gordon Nelson, vice president for Rogers in B.C.

"We are very pleased to bring our leading-edge wireless services to this expanding corridor of business, which is so important to the economy of British Columbia."

Not only does this expansion enable travellers on Highway 16 between Prince Rupert and Prince George to stay connected, but it also provides residents of Kitimat, Smithers, the Hazelton area, Houston and Terrace with access to the Rogers network. In addition to the Highway 16 expansion project, Rogers also recently invested a further $5 million to fill in coverage along Highway 97 between Prince George and Kamloops.

However, the positive announcement comes with one slight problem. It is not thought that the cell phone coverage will extend to Port Simpson or Metlakatla for now.

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A call was made to clarify the situation with Rogers but it was not retuned as of press time.