Sudden data troubles frustrating
Russell Bell is trying to figure out why he suddenly cannot get decent mobile coverage at his Tisbury home, when he has not had any trouble in the past.
Bell’s coverage woes began on February 14 when a colleague was unable to contact him in connection with a job. The call went straight to voicemail.
When calls did come through, the line was spotty and there were only certain places in his home where he had reception, and one step either side of those places would cause the call to drop, he said.
However, there could be hope on the horizon with his mobile provider Spark confirming a technician would visit him in the coming days at his Rocadel Rd home.
‘‘We suspect it is likely an indoor coverage issue but to be completely sure we will need to wait for the field report,’’ a spokesperson for the telecommunications company said.
Bell had spoken to neighbours who had similar experiences, but if he travelled a few hundred yards down the road his coverage was fine, he said.
He had rung Spark multiple times and was told that there was nothing wrong with the cellphone tower and, according to an online coverage map, his signal should be fair.
‘‘It’s been progressively getting worse,’’ Bell said. A saving grace was that he could still receive text messages.
The two towers closest to him are in the nearby suburb of Newfield and near Southland Hospital.
The Spark spokesperson said network teams had looked at the mobile coverage at Bell’s address and found he was in a low coverage area due to being on the outskirts of town, and on the fringe of the provider’s coverage reach.
The technician would check for possible causes of the disruption, such as other devices, concrete walls, overgrown trees and shelterbelts.