Schumer Taking Action Against Spotty Cellphone Coverage

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Sen. Charles Schumer is trying to improve New Yorkers' cellphone service -- by tracking dead zones where calls are regularly dropped.

The Democratic senator said Sunday that he's inviting mobile phone users to register their complaints on his website. His office will then call providers and challenge them with a list of weak reception spots in New York state.

Schumer said he will name the companies that are the biggest culprits.

He said he decided to take action after his own calls were dropped over and over again at the same locations.

"Once, I was on the phone with the head of Verizon, who was calling me about some Washington matter, and I told him: 'Your coverage -- I have Verizon -- is going to drop. I'm approaching the Williamsburg Bridge,'" Schumer told reporters, including WCBS 880's Ginny Kosola.

The senator said hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers rely on cellphones as an essential part of their daily lives and dropped calls lead to needless struggles. In an emergency, he says that could be dangerous.

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