Argyle Shore summer resident has difficulty getting internet service

Seasonal residents to Argyle Shore, P.E.I. looking for new internet service this summer are out of luck, at least for the time being.

That'swhat happened to John Dirks, who has been coming to P.E.I. for three-month stints for about 25 years.

No more capacity for new customers

In previous years, he suspendedinternet service at his Bonshaw Road property with Bell Aliantat the end of the summer. But last year, he decided to cancel the service, assuming he could start new service this summer.

When he contacted Bell Aliant about internet service, he was told that there was no more capacity in the area for another consumer. That all the ports required to provide internet in the Argyle Shore area are currently in use.

"I had this, perhaps naive feeling, that I could just redo it,"Dirks said.

Bell Aliant confirmed that all of the available ports are in use.

In a statement, the company says it does add additional ports when customer demand increases, particularly during the summer when there are seasonal users. But there are instances where the business case isn't there to make additional investments for just a few months of the year.

Further, the company says it ishappy to work with the federal and provincial governments and commercial customers to explore ways to expand service in what it calls non-economic areas.

'It's a nuisance'

Dirks said he talked to other providers, such as Eastlink, but they don't provide service in the area.

On Friday,Island Telecom's owner told CBC that internetservice can be offered to Dirks, but it will take a month.

Even so, Dirks said the incident highlights the need for a discussion about making internet service more readily available.

"It's a nuisance,"he said.

"I would think the great majority [of summer Islanders] would come with their computers, cell phones looking for internet. So I suspect that this is a problem for other summer Islanders as they come, and maybe other residents here."

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