Subject: [NEXTEL-1] NYC Mayor: Can You Hear Us Now? Nextel In Trouble-

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 19:55:37 -0500

NYC Mayor: Can You Hear Us Now? Nextel In Trouble-

The Associated Press

October 27, 2003, 6:16 PM EST

Can you hear me now? Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city will try to root out
cell phone dead spots
by asking people to report places where they can't get service.

"Cell phones generally provide a great service," Bloomberg said Monday. "The
trouble is that every once
in a while cell phones don't work -- and cell phones don't work exactly at the
wrong time, or in places
that you are, and it's very annoying."

He said it also was dangerous because people might be unable to place 911 calls in
certain areas.

Bloomberg said frustrated callers should phone -- from a landline, presumably --
the city's 311 help line
to report trouble spots. The information -- including the cell phone carrier and
whether the call was
attempted indoors or outside -- will be collected and disseminated to the public
beginning Nov. 24.

That date coincides with the effective day of a federal law that will allow mobile
phone customers to switch carriers while
maintaining their phone number.

The city said it also will begin to monitor wireless carriers to ensure that the
companies are following industry guidelines for
consumer services, including disclosing rates and terms of service and allowing
for trial periods on new purchases.

Though a recent J.D. Power and Associates study ranked New York last in customer
satisfaction and call quality in the nation's
27 largest cell phone markets, Bloomberg took care not to criticize wireless phone
companies.

As is the case in most places, mobile phone use in the city has increased
exponentially during the past several years. In 1999,
there were 3 million cell phone subscriptions in the city; this year, there are
10.5 million. The city has a population of about 8
million.

During the 2001 World Trade Center attack and this summer's blackout, many cell
phone calls, including those made to 911,
failed to connect.

Representatives from Verizon Wireless, Nextel and AT&T Wireless did not return
calls seeking comment Monday.

Earlier this month, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., accused cell phone companies of
doing little to improve service in dead
spots, saying "instead of building up infrastructure, cell phone companies are
spending all their time marketing their services to
new customers." At the time, Verizon Wireless spokesman Jim Gerace said, "we know
where the dead zones are and we are
addressing them."
http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/manhattan/nyc-cell1028,0,4389855.story?coll=nyc-manheadlines-manhattan

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