Solar eclipse 2024: No issues with Canada cellphone service [Video]

TORONTO –

Canada’s two largest mobile carriers say bolstered capacity measures helped their networks handle the extra wireless traffic in hot spot regions where tens of thousands of people gathered to take in Monday’s total solar eclipse.

BCE Inc. says its Bell network saw five times the regular volume of traffic in areas including Niagara, Hamilton, Toronto, Montreal, Sherbrooke, Brockville, Kingston and Quebec City.

“Thanks to the measures we had put in place ahead of time, our network continued to run optimally,” BCE spokeswoman Jacqueline Michelis said in a statement.

Rogers Communications Inc. said in Niagara Falls, which was preparing for up to one million visitors, it saw more than six times the normal pressure on its network.

“This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and our network team worked around the clock to handle the increase in wireless …