Brianna Barter believes having cellular service will result in more young people wanting to come to Mainland, the community she lives in, because of safety and convenience.
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'Push on for cellular service in Mainland and Three Rock Cove'
The Grade 12 student at École-Sainte-Anne, where the announcement took place, said today the majority of young people have cell phones and when you don’t have service it’s frustrating.
Barter said there are other big advantages as they get closer to having the service provided including people feeling safer if they have contact in the event of an accident and people out fishing having contact.
She believes there will be a lot more tourists wanting to spend more time in the community when the cellular service is in place. Also, that youth will have contact with their parents readily available if they are out somewhere in the community.
The service got a step closer on Friday when Christopher Mitchelmore, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation and Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, made an announcement in the community of the provincial government’s continuation towards it.
Through a cost-shared agreement with Réseau de Développement Economique et d’Employabilité de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador (RDEE TNL) and Bell Canada, the provincial government is contributing $115,266 to provide cellular service to Mainland and Three Rock Cove on the Port au Port Peninsula.
This non-repayable contribution represents 25 per cent of funding for the total project, estimated to cost $461,062.
To make it happen, the community is left to raise about $69,000 and have already been actively fundraising close to $16,000, according to Nina Tourett-Retieffe, treasurer for the fundraising committee.
John Finn, MHA for Stephenville-Port au Port District, said while campaigning in the last election one of the first people to come into his office was Wendy Brake, economic development officer for RDEE West Coast, who pointed to Mainland on the map and said there was no cell service there.
He said hopefully the announcement they were making would inspire folks to help out now that it’s official.
Finn believes having the service will be huge for tourism and create potential for opening news businesses.
Mitchelmore said this is a one-time contribution to make this happen and it’s important to help École-Sainte-Anne promote the French language and culture.
“I commend the community for stepping up and being well on their way to making this happen. I’m happy to see cellular coverage come into communities,” he said.
The funding will assist with the deployment of a new Long-Term Evolution SimpleCell on a new 25 metre pole between the communities of Mainland and Three Rock Cove. The installation of the SimpleCell technology will provide high power low band signals resulting in a larger coverage footprint.
Cellular Committee fundraisers
Door-to-door campaign
Ticket sales
Teenage dance
Talent show and auction
Silent auction
Many more in the works
