At Iqaluit's Four Corners intersection downtown, it takes Jessica Bos more than 10 minutes to send a text message with a photo.

A regular text and a phone call go through right away, but Bos says that's not the norm.

"Phone calls it always takes at least three times," says Bos. "It drops the call sometimes. Sometimes it doesn't even work. I tried to make a phone call on the weekend and it didn't go through, so I gave up."

She says service seems to be better in the morning and late at night, but stalls in the late afternoon.

"Sometimes it might be fine, but to say that it's always 3G? Absolutely not."

John Lawford, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in Ottawa, a group that works on the behalf of consumer rights, says "There's no point in complaining to each other. The time for that is over.

Some cellphone users say 3G service offered in Iqaluit is slow and unreliable. (Vincent Desrosiers/CBC)

"Unless you're going to switch from company to company and try a new competitor that may be able to provide you better service, then the only other person to complain to who's going to be able to do anything about this is the CRTC."

CRTC hearing

The CRTC is asking for input on basic telecommunications service standards. Lawford says people can file their comments on the CRTC website. The deadline for comments on the first stage of the process is July 14.

"If you're in a region where the cell phone service is poor, it's really worth commenting on because we're trying to decide what is the minimal level of service for broadband and all sorts of other things, including cell phone service," he said.

He added that if service is so bad, that people don't think they're getting their money's worth, they can contact the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services.

Lawford says the other thing people can do is complain directly to their service provider. Iqaluit is served by two wireless providers: Bell Mobility and Ice Wireless.

Jason Lazlo, a spokesperson for Bell Mobility, says the company offers "high-speed wireless service in Iqaluit, but the need to rely on satellite connections to reach beyond the community can have an impact."

Ice Wireless' chief operating officer Cameron Zubko says "Our customers are very happy with the speeds we provide on our mobile phones."

For Bos, there's an upside to the poor cell phone service.

"I've learned to not to rely on my phone as much, which could be a good thing."