Trouble Getting Fibre In Attached Townhome

[glenngkelly]

My partner and I just purchased a home in the Silverado area of Calgary. It is a townhome but not in the traditional sense, having individual backyards and detached garages behind each unit. The only thing that makes it a townhome is our unit and garage is attached to the others beside us. 

After doing a little research and mapping everything out on google maps, I have discovered all of the detached homes around us have access to fibre internet and have had it since 2010, whereas none of the attached townhouse style homes have access to fibre.

The confusing thing is our home appears exactly like a detached home from the outside, minus the previously mentioned attachments. In addition, the detached home directly behind ours, no more than 15 feet across the alleyway, has fibre and it appears the drop box is beside our row of townhomes.

I have called into Telus multiple times to see if I could get my home hooked up to the fibre grid and have received different answers from multiple agents. On top of that, none of the agents except the last one escalated things any further or created a ticket for me so there was no record of my correspondence.

My unit seems like the perfect location to hook up to the fibre network however all of the agents minus the last have told me it is not possible without any explanation why.

The first agent I spoke with did say my unit was “fibre ready” and that she would look into having my unit hooked up and call me back in 48 hours, however I did not receive any follow up after a week.

It has been almost a week that my partner and I have had no internet and we don’t want to sign a contract with another provider because we know Telus will eventually finish the fibre installation in our area.

I have a ticket now with the assessment team as well as an installation request but I fear I will get the same response.

Do I have any other options and has anyone been in a similar situation?

Cheers,

- GK

[TELUS_Support]

Have you filled out this form to put in a request: https://www.telus.com/en/internet/fibre/connect-to-the-purefibre-network?linktype=subnav

Alternatively, here's an inbox you can try as well: [email protected] 

I should note the contact info should reflect that of the strata/council president as this involves coordination with decision makers (if your address qualifies, construction is to the entire complex and not just individual units in stratified housing.

We carefully review all requests through a detailed feasibility assessment. While we'd love to have everyone connected, please understand that not every request can be implemented due to various factors we must consider.

[glenngkelly]

See that’s the issue, we don’t have a strata or council president. Our row of townhouses are all individually owned and not part of a condo association. That is why I am confused and believe my situation is an exception to Telus’ policies.

I understand you have to consider feasibility based on certain factors however no one has explained what those factors are and I’m confused as to why our row of houses do not meet the criteria when all the homes around us, including the house 10 feet behind mine do. Not to mention the fact the drop point is located at the end of our row.

It’s coming across as almost a matter of class when condos and townhouses which are historically less market value are not receiving the same services as more expensive detached homes. 

I will continue to push for the installation in these units however I should note that I have been forced to go with a rival provider due to Telus’ inability to provide an adequate reason for not installing fibre in our row beyond scripted responses.

[TELUS_Support]

I would still suggest filling it out as it would be assigned to the appropriate decision makers.