SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A class-action lawsuit against Bell Mobility for charging NWT customers 75 cents per month for non-existent 911 service might expand to include residents of Nunavut and rural Yukon.

In NWT Supreme Court Tuesday, Samuel Marr, lawyer for complainants James and Samuel Anderson of Yellowknife, applied to add Bell Mobility customers in the rest of the North, excluding Whitehorse which has 911 service, to the lawsuit, which stands at $6 million in claims for NWT residents alone.

Justice Ronald S. Veale reserved his decision. He is expected to release a written decision regarding the expansion of the lawsuit in the coming weeks, according to Marr.

He said Tuesday's motion, which took six hours, also covered a number of other procedural matters including the complainants seeking a jury trial.

"Bell Mobility strongly opposes a jury trial," Marr wrote in an e-mail.

A spokesperson for Bell Mobility could not be reached before press deadline.

Marr said the complainants want notice of the case to be sent out in the Bell Mobility's monthly bills to its customers in the three territories, which he said Bell Mobility also opposes.

The evidence given at the hearing yesterday indicates there are around 24,000 customers in the NWT, 4,300 customers with billing addresses in Nunavut and close to 1,500 in the Yukon, outside of Whitehorse.

The Andersons started the lawsuit against the telecommunications company in 2007 after raising concerns that Bell Mobility was charging NWT customers a 911 service fee when no such service was provided in the NWT.

James Anderson said he sees a lot in common with residents in Nunavut and the rural areas of the Yukon.

"It also concerns many residents in northern parts of the provinces but we haven't chosen to include them at this time," he said. "We think the issues are the same and those residents are also paying for a service that they're not receiving."

The 911 service costs customers about $9 a year. When NWT residents dial 911, they get a message saying that the service is not available and to hang up and dial a local emergency line.

The trial date for the class-action lawsuit is set for May 7, 2012.

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