Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Feb 11/02) - People calling long distance from the Mackenzie Delta can expect to hear a lot more static before things start getting better.

The phone lines from Inuvik to the South have been fuzzy in the last month because work on the phone connections downstream has been eating up resources normally used for maintaining the system up here.

"Right now, what you're noticing is lack of maintenance on the existing system," says Anne Grainger, spokesperson for Northwes Tel.

Long-distance phone service is carried by microwave radio between Inuvik and Fort Simpson, where the service connects to regular land lines to Yellowknife. As part of a four-year service improvement plan, NorthwesTel is upgrading the Mackenzie Valley radio system from analog to digital signals.

Work started last month on the radio system from Norman Wells to Fort Simpson, and that means technicians haven't had time to do regular maintenance on the northern section of the phone system.

Long-distance callers in the Inuvik and neighbouring communities should notice an improvement in line quality by April, when regular maintenance is scheduled to resume.