Heather Wright/The Independent

The Town of Plympton-Wyoming expects to save close to $15,000 just by switching cell phone carriers.

And the added bonus will be better service, particularly along Lake Huron.

In a report to council, Sept. 24, Chief Administrative Officer Adam Sobanski said town works staff had been having big problems using cell phones, particularly at the town’s lakeside parks, Highland Glen and Lamrecton.

“Staff has also observed higher than normal roaming charges along with the weak Bell signal causing phones to switch to networks in the US when near the lake or the border,” he writes adding there have been more long distance charges because of voice over internet calls using numbers from outside the area.

“Bell offered no long term resolution to staff’s concerns regarding escalating expenses,” he wrote. After speaking with Bell officials, Sobanski says there doesn’t seem to be any infrastructure improvements coming anytime soon.

“If we can’t connect to their network, it doesn’t matter how good their network is,” Sobanski told council. “And right now we can’t connect to the Bell network in like half of the community at night.”

The town contacted the region’s joint government purchasing group to see if any deals were available and found the province had struck a deal with Rogers which was now offered to all governments in the province.

Sobanski estimates the town will save about $14,745 a year in base costs and long distance charges, since Rogers’ plan is Canada-wide. Rogers’ roaming charges also cap at $30 per month where Bell charges $13 per day with no cap.

The prices are in effect for 10 years.

Councillor Alex Boughen said “the cost savings make it a no brainer. But, if there is any sort of opportunity for an exit interview with our friends at Bell, I’m sure we can make it clear that this is their own doing, because there’s no service, so they need to change something.”