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Emergency Updates

Bell ready to mitigate the effects of wildfires on its network

With wildfires active in parts of the province, Bell is activating its strategies to help customers stay connected during emergency situations that may affect our network. Bell has plans in place to prevent wildfire-related outages and to lessen the impact on customers when they occur.

In any emergency, we prioritize the safety of the community and first responders. Continued access to Internet and mobile services plays a critical role in supporting people facing these situations, as well as the responders. We also consider the safety of our team members who repair and restore the network in challenging conditions as essential.

Current Customer Impacts:

Fire has impacted infrastructure in some areas. Customers in Armstrong, Kingfisher Lake, Pickle Lake, Mishkeegogamang, Cat Lake, Osnaberg House, Musselwhite Mine, Collins, Whitesand, Gull Bay, Ontario, are experiencing disruptions to Voice, Internet, and TV services.

To lessen the impact on communities affected by wildfires, we are:

  • Prioritizing generators for locations that support key wireless sites, high-density fibre routes, and public safety communications.
  • Staying ready to deploy crews from other regions to support affected areas if needed.
  • Communicating with provincial Emergency Management Offices (EMOs), Premiers�� offices, key federal ministers, and other local partners to ensure effective coordination and support.
  • Working collaboratively with other network providers.
  • Setting up a 24/7 Corporate Emergency Operations Center.

In addition, we have been steadily transitioning from our copper network to more resilient fibre networks, which helps reduce the frequency and duration of outages.

Here are some useful tips to be prepared during the next event:

  • Keep devices fully charged and have a backup battery ready in case of power outages
  • Turn off Wi‑Fi and location-based services when not needed, and keep devices dry and cool
  • Stay informed through local radio and television stations and apps such as the CTV News app
  • Stay up-to-date about outages at support.bell.ca/outage-check and @Bell_Support, @Bell_Aliant or @Bell_MTSHelps on X
  • During large-scale emergencies, mobile networks may become congested due to increased call and data volumes. Help reduce congestion by:
    • Using your mobile phone only for emergency calls
    • Using SMS/text or email to communicate, as these use less network capacity
    • Keep phone calls as short as possible
    • Refraining from data-intensive activities such as video streaming
  • During a power outage, modems and TV receivers will not work. Once power is restored, you may need to turn devices off and on again to restore service
    • Bell’s networks may also be unavailable or experience disruptions until power is back
  • Visit getprepared.gc.ca to learn more about how to prepare and stay safe during an emergency.

Here are other useful tips to keep your business connected:

  • Document contact information for the Bell Service Desk, Account Executive, and escalation contacts, and keep it with your emergency kit
  • Ensure critical network devices are connected to a UPS battery backup or local generator with sufficient capacity to meet operational requirements
  • Consider purchasing a 5G/LTE service as a backup for data and Internet services

For additional information on Bell’s preparedness visit bell.ca/our-network.

Other resources:

Preparing for Severe Weather Events and Other Emergencies.pdf (canadatelecoms.ca)

Article: A network Canadian businesses can count on | Business Resources | Bell Canada