U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today revealed that in response to his crowdsourcing campaign to identify and locate dead zones—particularly on Long Island—over 200 have been identified. Schumer detailed these dead zones and said there are many areas throughout Long Island that experience poor quality when it comes to cell phone network speed, network reliability, data performance, call performance and text performance.
“When it comes to cell service on Long Island, these dead zones are proof carriers need to—quite frankly—raise the bar,” said Schumer. “A heavily populated region like Long Island shouldn’t be home to over 200 dead zones. Just a stone’s throw away from New York City and home to several universities, thousands of businesses and more, Long Island’s cell phone coverage must remain uninterrupted. Now that Long Islanders have submitted critical dead zones locations to my office, our wireless carriers 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 both Nassau and Suffolk residents.”
Schumer revealed these locations and publicly asked carriers to come up with a solution to fix them that meets community need and consent. This past winter, Schumer asked Long Island residents to submit their local cell phone dead zones via his website. Schumer said this data collection will be used to help wireless carriers better track Long Island service interruptions for their coverage maps.
Schumer said 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. Schumer said that wireless carriers need to do everything possible to ensure that New Yorkers have access to cell phone service at all times.
Schumer argued that poor wireless service, and often times, inaccurate coverage maps that hide dead zones, hurt consumers and businesses in several ways. For instance, a lack of wireless coverage across Long Island 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.
Schumer said that the Long Island dead zone locations submitted to his office did not discriminate by region. Dead zone locations were prevalent in western Nassau County areas—in communities like Great Neck and Port Washington—as well as in areas on the Eastern End of Suffolk—in East Hampton and Fishers Island neighborhoods.
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