Pickerel River residents left without Bell phone service since June

Ninety-three year-old Aldythe Rogersonhasn't been able to use her landline phone for a month and a half.

She lives along Pickerel River. It'snear the small community of Port Loring, Ont., in the Parry Sound region.

Rogerson's daughter Lynn Bolton told CBC's Morning North that her elderly mother has been without her Bell landline telephone service since June 20.

At least a dozen other residents in that neighbourhood also don't have access to their respectivelandline phones either. To add to the problem, there is no cell phone service in thatarea.

Boltonand her family are frustrated with Bell's response to the situation. She and her brother have emailed and called the phone company several times. Boltonsaidno one has been able to give them any answers.

According to Bolton, they were also given a number of different repair dates, ranging from June 27 to September 30.

"It was sort oflike the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing, as we talked to different departments."

Listen to the interview with Lynn Boltonhere.

Elderly residents feel isolated without access to phones

Chuck Fraleigh lives in the same area and still has his landline service, however his phone emits a low buzz that gets louder the longer you stay on the line.

"That buzz gets worse with other telephones, like with other residents," Fraleigh said. "And it gets to the point where it just cuts out."

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Fraleigh said his 91 year-old mother-in-lawwho lives alone next doorhas no phone service at all, and that is taking a toll on her well-being. She relies on her phone to stay in touch with friends and relatives he said.

"It makes her life very lonely, because it's not like she can just pick up a phone and talk to anybody, like during the day," Fraleigh said. "She's kind of been in that isolation since June."

Bolton said that her mother also usedher phone for socializing, and has felt more isolated without it.

Both families are concerned about what might happen in an emergency situation, especially with so many elderly people living in the area.

"I think a phone is an essential service for anyone in this day and age," Bolton said.

Service should be restored by the end ofweek: Bell

In an email toCBC News, the director of communications for Bell Canada, Marc Choma, said the outage was caused by a cut to an underwater cable.

"Due to the depth of the lake where the cable was located, it was not possible to salvage or repair the cable," Choma wrote. "We are still investigating the cause of the cable damage, but our priority has been the restoration of service as soon as possible."

A half-kilometre replacement cable arrived in Port Loring last week, Chomasaid.But the company will have to wait for government approval and the appropriate equipment to complete the underwater installation.

Bell hopes to have the landlinephone service restored by the end of this week.

Bolton is cautiously optimistic.

"My fingersare crossed that that's going to happen ...But they've given us so many dates now, we don't know what to believe."