A month after most university students moved to Fredericton, some are still waiting for Internet access they set up at the beginning of the month.
Many Bell Aliant Inc. customers who moved in in September waited three weeks or longer to get Internet access.
Third-year St. Thomas University student Dylan Sealy said the telecommunications giant has not communicated with him well, causing what was initially quoted as a one-week wait for internet connection to grow to four weeks.
“It’s a pain in the dick, because now I have homework to do that I’d really like to do at home,” he said.
Sealy ordered high-speed Internet service in-store within days of moving into his York Street apartment on Sept. 1. He said when his router did not arrive in the mail in the first week, the companty told him he and his four roommates would have to wait another three weeks for a technician to visit the house.
Bell Aliant spokesperson Katherine VanBuskirk cited increased demand for the company’s FibreOp service as a cause for longer-than-usual delays as each building must be rewired with new high-bandwidth fibre-optical cable.
“By assigning additional crews and extending their hours, we worked hard to maintain reasonable wait times,” she said, adding there should be no more delays on new installations.
Sealy feels the wait times shouldn’t be longer for people purchasing standard high-speed Internet, like himself.
“We asked about FibreOp and we had to get almost everyone in the house to get it so they would come set it up,” he said, adding his house holds about 20 residents in four units. “We obviously didn’t do that, so I don’t know what we’re waiting for.”
Despite Bell Aliant moving employees to Fredericton to help register and give access to the September student rush, students like Sealy are still waiting.
The Bell Aliant spokesperson said customers were encouraged to call in advance of moving in on Sept. 1, to have installation arranged as early as possible in September.
Rogers Communications, too, sees increased wait times and bring in extra contractors to Fredericton in September. Their average wait time for internet service is down to one week.
