Some residents in Pine River are struggling to have a reliable form of phone communication.

Debbie Soloway, a resident of Pine River, tells us about the most recent issue.

“Every time it rains, we seem to have a lot of problems with our phone lines and on May 25 we had a rain of just over an inch. This time the phone lines went out, and we’re talking land lines, and some customers have not had any service from BellMTS and as of today, they still have not come out and repaired those land lines.”

There is very poor cell phone service in the area, and almost all of the residents rely on landline telephones.

Soloway has been placing calls on an old cell phone with a booster for seniors and those who don’t have cell phones. She is worried for those who may have an emergency and need to make a call but can’t.

“Well I just think in this day and age, and that is our communication system and we do pay hefty, hefty bills to have the service, the least they can do is look after the area. They’ve known for many years that these lines that we have here in Pine River, have been depleted to the point where they don’t work good.  Everybody’s phone is chattery on a good day, never mind give it a little rain or snow, and then we lose the entire service.  I think it’s time they come and fix the lines.”

A representative for BellMTS responded by saying they're only aware of four customers experiencing service interruptions.