Inuvik (Oct 06/06) - "I'm sorry, I can't hear you. Can you call back from a land line?"

It's a remark that has almost become more common in Inuvik than saying hello.

Steve Robertson is one of the many unsatisfied cell phone users in town who is frustrated with his service lately. NMI mobility and Bell Mobility phones have been experiencing technical difficulties over the past few weeks. The disruption is also causing inconvenience for cab drivers. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

A technical disruption in service from cellular provider NMI Mobility has left customers hearing static.

For taxi driver Mohammad Alley, the bad reception has affected the volume of business he would normally get.

"People know my cell number and they call me for rides," said Alley.

Alley has been under a contracted service with NMI for the past six years. He said he has not had any problems with their service before last month.

"This all started on Sept. 22. It was a Friday and people thought my phone was off," he explained.

Alley said shortly after he noticed the service problem - which caused his phone to make piercing shrieks - other cab drivers were also reporting bad phones.

"At first they laughed at me, but then theirs stopped working too," he said.

The service cuts in and out, which is why some calls go through after repeated attempts.

NMI representative Chris McNutt said the service break is a temporary problem.

"This is intermittent, which means it comes and goes," said McNutt.

"Only some cellular channels are affected, so keep trying to make your calls."

He said his technical crew first noticed the problem last week, and it looked like it was remedied but then more complaints came in over the weekend.

The service is being fixed and will be up and running at full speed soon, he noted.

"I apologize to the users in Inuvik. We pride ourselves on giving reliable service and this will be done with soon," he said.

For food delivery driver Steve Robertson, the problem also has more than one angle.

"This is like a double-edged sword," said Robertson. "My work is affected and so is my home life."

Most of the apartment buildings in town have broken buzzer systems, so Robertson finds himself calling the customer from outside their building. "Half of the time I can't even get through. It can get difficult," he said.

Other times, while taking orders at the Roost, Robertson would have to tell customers to call back because he couldn't understand what they were saying.

"It sounded like some kind of an alien voice," said Robertson.

"Some calls come in four or five times before we can even take their order."

When at home entertaining guests, Robertson said calling cabs can be a pain, because he has no land line in his house.

"The cell phone is the only way to reach them and it sucks," he said.

Ice Wireless is the second provider for cell phones in town.

Their service is digital, and project supervisor Russell Brown said he hasn't noticed any problems with their phones.