New York, NY - January 19, 2016 - U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced a campaign to identify and locate dead zones, particularly in New York City and on Long Island. Schumer said there are many areas throughout New York City and Long Island that experience poor quality when it comes to cell phone network speed, network reliability, data performance, call performance and text performance. Therefore, Schumer is asking New Yorkers to report to his office the specific locations of dead zones in their area and which wireless carrier they use. New Yorkers who wish to participate in this crowdsourcing effort can submit their local cell phone dead zones via the Senator’s website. Schumer said the information will be used to help wireless carriers better track New York City service interruptions for their coverage maps. Schumer will report the results to wireless carriers so that they can make sure the dead zones is fixed.
“Cell phones are essential for New Yorkers, but what good is a cell phone unless you have good coverage?” said Senator Schumer. “New Yorkers are using wireless carriers far more than landlines to keep in touch with loved ones and to place important calls and so, our wireless carriers need to make sure our cell phone coverage is uninterrupted. I’m urging New Yorkers from all over to submit dead zone locations to my website so that wireless carriers can make sure they are fixed.”
Schumer argued that poor wireless service, and often times, inaccurate coverage maps that hide dead zones, hurt consumers and businesses in New York City in several ways. For instance, a lack of wireless coverage across New York City could be a threat to public safety.
Wireless services also support global positioning system (GPS) products that are essential to residents and tourists alike. Schumer said the lack of wireless coverage could make tourists reluctant to travel to an area knowing they will not have the ability to use their GPS technology to explore the area or make calls in an emergency situation.
For these reasons, Schumer said quality wireless service must be an essential part of modern U.S. infrastructure, just like water, housing and clean air, and consumers deserve access to information that allows them to make informed decisions about their wireless carriers. Schumer said that wireless carriers need to do everything possible to ensure that New Yorkers have access to cell phone service at all times. That’s why the Senator has launched this crowdsourcing campaign and will make a push to get maddening dead zones patched up. In the same way typical crowdsourcing seeks to raise money with the help of aggregate ‘crowd’ support, Schumer’s plan will source data and then deliver it to respective carriers.