Cell phone sales brisk in Cape Dorset

This LG Rumor resembles the models that new cell phone clients in Cape Dorset are now able to buy. (IMAGE COURTESY OF LYNX MOBILITY)

Sales of the ever-popular cell phone have been brisk in Cape Dorset since being offered to customers at the end of March, says the manager of the local co-operative store.

More than 70 members of the community of 1,300 snapped up phones during the first week of sales.

“It’s quite a bit, and it’s just going to keep growing,” said Cary Merritt, general manager of the Cape Dorset Co-op where the phones are sold.

“Initially it was very busy when everybody jumped in. Now we’re just picking up a few people every day.”

Montreal-based Lynx Mobility, which provides the service in partnership with the co-op, offers prepaid plans ranging from $15 to $90 a month, which work throughout the hamlet.

“There are some parts of town where you might get dead zones,” said Merritt, due to the hilly terrain within and around the community. “They’re going to put in more towers and repeaters to increase the coverage, and so then you can get more coverage out onto the land.”

Lynx opened cell service in the Hudson Bay community of Sanikiluaq late last year, and is set to do the same in Gjoa Haven.

“There’s still a large portion of Canada that is not on cell phone service,” said Adnan Ahmed, general manager for Lynx Mobility in Montreal. The company “is dedicated to providing cellular services to the remote and isolated areas of Canada.”

Growing from their initial offering of services in Labrador and Nunavik, the provider has plans to expand in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, he added.

“We want to get service to everyone as much as possible, for everything that happens. Not just for communications, but for emergency purposes and also for the booms in economy that come from it, so businesses can be reached at all times,” Ahmed said.

Callers are charged 30 cents a minute, and long distance at about 60 cents a minute. Incoming calls and texts are free and unlimited. Customers can use the phones in other communities with Lynx service.

Free incoming calls are a big benefit, Merritt said, and the prepaid cards make it easier for callers to keep track of expenses, which is another attraction over landline calling.

“You have control over how you’re spending your expenses that way,” he said.

Hamlet residents have long been anxious for cellular service, said Merritt. As a one-time mayor of Cape Dorset, he recalled lobbying NorthwesTel for coverage – without success.

“They did an installation up in Pangnirtung, and they kept saying, ‘some day we’ll come and evaluate, we’ll look at it’,” said Merritt. “Lynx came in and I guess they beat them to the punch.”

Many residents already have phones from other providers, purchased while traveling in larger communities and in southern Canada.

“Many are just waiting to see if their phones will be able to use the signal,” said Merritt. “So some people are anticipating that may happen and are not buying the Lynx phones yet,” he laughed. “This is all brand new, so we don’t know some of the finer details yet until we see how it progresses forward.”

Merritt said the Co-op had sold most of their supply after one week’s worth of sales. As the Lynx phones can also be used in non-Lynx communities with roaming charges, he anticipates sales will continue to grow.