Schumer Calls For Wireless Carriers To Fix NYS ‘Dead Zones’

Senator Charles Schumer is calling for cell phone carriers to fix more than 4,000 cell phone dead spots across New York State.

Last winter, the senator asked Upstate residents to submit their local dead zones to his website so wireless carriers can better track Upstate New York service interruptions for their coverage maps.

In Central New York, there were 407 reported dead zones.

He detailed these dead zones and said there are many areas throughout Upstate New York that experience poor quality when it comes to cell phone network speed, network reliability, data performance, call performance, and text performance.

Schumer is asking carriers to come up with a solution to fix the dead zones that meets community needs.

“When it comes to cell service across Upstate New York, these dead zones are proof carriers need to—quite frankly—raise the bar,” Schumer said. “The entire Upstate New York area should not be home to over 4,000 dead zones. Upstate NY is home to several universities, thousands of businesses and more – so residents’ and business owners’ cell phone coverage must remain uninterrupted. Now communities across the entire state have submitted critical dead zones locations to my office, our wireless carries must make sure they are fixed. I will share these locations to carriers and am urging them to come up with a solution that meets the needs of residents from the Lower Hudson Valley, to the North Country, to Western New York – and everywhere in between.”

This push came on the heels of news that in recent years many New York consumers reported increasing problems with poor network performance, particularly in rural areas where there are fewer cellular towers and less wireless infrastructure.

Schumer says quality wireless service must be an essential part of modern U.S. infrastructure, just like roads and mass transit, and consumers deserve access to information that allows them to make informed decisions about their wireless carriers.

A total of 4,366 dead zones were reported across Upstate New York:

• In the Capital Region, there were 635 reported dead zones.
• In Western New York, there were 733 reported dead zones.
• In Central New York, there were 407 reported dead zones.
• In the Rochester-Finger Lakes Region, there were 440 reported dead zones.
• In the Southern Tier, there were 788 reported dead zones.
• In the Hudson Valley, there were 970 reported dead zones.
• In the North Country, there were 393 reported dead zones.