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Emergency Updates

Bell is ready to mitigate the effects of wildfires and hurricanes on its network

Bell is activating its strategies to help customers stay connected during extreme weather events.

We have activated our internal emergency response process and are actively monitoring the spread of wildfires. Our teams are working to mitigate the impacts of the fires to keep our customers connected.

Outage details


Wildfires damaged infrastructure near and in Jasper, resulting in service interruptions for Bell customers in the communities. Our teams are ready to respond as soon as it is safe to do so.

To help support our impacted customers, Bell is giving eligible customers an extra 50 GB of mobile data for eligible voice and data smartphone subscribers that can be used between July 26 - August 16. Data will automatically be added, no action is required.*

Bell’s approach to mitigating the impacts of severe weather includes:

  • A year-round daily network review to ensure network stability
  • Preparing our wireless cell sites, data centre and central offices to maximize battery life
  • Ensuring our generators and trucks are topped up with fuel and we have access to enough fuel during and immediately after a severe weather event
  • Prioritizing generators in places that support key wireless sites, high-density fibre routes and public safety communications
  • Readiness to deploy crews from other regions to support affected areas if needed
  • Providing technicians with refresher training on how to work safely in hazardous conditions
  • Communicating with applicable provincial Emergency Management Offices (EMOs), Premiers’ offices, key federal ministers, and other local partners to ensure effective coordination and support
  • Working collaboratively with other network providers
  • Setting up a 24/7 Corporate Emergency Operations Center as soon as we foresee impacts on our customers

In addition, we’ve been steadily transitioning from our copper network to fibre networks, which are more resilient to extreme weather conditions, reducing the frequency and length of weather-related outages.

Here are some useful tips to be prepared:

  • Keep your devices fully charged and have a backup battery charged and ready in case of power outages
  • Turn off Wi-Fi and location-based services when you don’t need them and keep your devices dry and cool
  • Stay informed through local radio and television stations and apps such as the CTV News app
  • Stay up-to-date about outages at Bell.ca/our-network and @Bell_Support, @Bell_Aliant or @Bell_MTSHelps on X
  • During a large-scale emergency, mobile networks can become congested with an influx of mobile voice calls and data traffic. Help reduce network congestion by:
    • only using your mobile phone to make emergency calls
    • using SMS/text or email to connect with others as these services use less network capacity
    • keeping phone calls as short as possible
    • refrain from using mobile wireless networks for data-intensive uses, like streaming video
  • During a power outage, your modem and TV receivers will not work. As power is restored, you may need to turn your devices off and on again to reboot service
  • Visit getprepared.gc.ca to learn more on how to prepare and stay safe during an emergency.

For additional information on Bell’s preparedness visit bell.ca/our-network

Other resources:

Preparing_for_Severe_Weather_Events_and_Other_Emergencies.pdf (canadatelecoms.ca)

* Eligible customers are Bell Mobility and Virgin Plus Consumer and Small Business postpaid customers in affected areas on monthly data plans. Customers impacted are defined as those with a billing address on file in Jasper Alberta who have been evacuated. Please check your SMS for details on the exact dates for data usage as date ranges can vary but will always be 21 days.