New York City - According to a new study conducted by Congressman Anthony Weiner’s Office (D-Queens & Brooklyn), up to 120,000 calls placed to 9-1-1 last year in NYC on cellular phones didn’t go through because of dead spots or poor cell phone technology. Today, Rep. Weiner, author of the Cell Phone Service Disclosure Act, and consumer advocates demanded better dead spot disclosure by wireless providers and called for tougher FCC sanctions for those that fail to comply with emergency call regulations.
Last year, more than 56 million Americans made 9-1-1 calls from their cell phones. But because of dead spots and flawed technology, millions never got through, leaving them to fend for themselves in an emergency.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEINER CELL PHONE 9-1-1 STUDY:
Every year in NYC, an estimated 120,000 calls placed to 9-1-1 on cell phones don’t go through, leaving distressed callers without recourse to police, firefighters or EMT’s. It’s a national problem, with an estimated 2.2 million cell phone emergency calls never getting through.
The reason? It all goes back to those irritating dead spots: hidden holes in cell phone networks from which you can’t make a call, no matter how urgent it is. Consumers have identified more than 500 dead spots in metro New York for the six major carriers: Sprint, AT & T, T - Mobile, Verizon, Nextel, and Cingular.
But that’s only the start of the problem. A recent study found that 33 popular cell phone brands aren't equipped with FCC mandated technology that's supposed to make sure every 9-1-1 call goes through (by switching from one carrier to another if the call doesn't go through in 17 seconds). Phones tested that do not include the mandated technology include models from Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson, LG , Kyocera, Audiovox, Sanyo, Samsung, Mitsubishi and Panasonic.
Under Rep. Weiner’s Cell Phone Service Disclosure Act, consumers would be able to compare the quality of competing cell phone carriers, including prevalence of dead spots and roll over technology, thereby creating market pressure on carriers to improve. Today, he and consumer advocates called for immediate passage of the Act, as well as new legislation Rep. Weiner will introduce to update FCC regs governing 9-1-1 technology, and to increase sanctions for cell phone carriers and manufacturers that fail to comply.
"The unfortunate fact is that in NYC, placing a 9-1-1 call on your cell phone can be hazardous to your health," said Rep. Weiner. "With more and more of us relying exclusively on our cell phones, consumers need to know that dead spots and dropped calls aren’t just irritating, they can be a matter of life and death."
A recent "Consumer Reports" survey of 1,880 wireless users revealed that 4% of all cell phone 9-1-1 calls never get through because of dead spots and other technological failings. Last year, 57 million 9-1-1 calls were placed with cell phones nationwide, meaning that an estimated 2.3 million never went through. In NYC, 12 million 9-1-1 calls were completed, 3,019,000 of which were made with cell phones. Assuming that call completion rates in New York are consistent with the national numbers, it is estimated that 120,000 wireless 9-1-1 calls in NYC failed.
Calculations regarding the number of cell phone dead spots in the metro-New York area are based on figures contained on the web site DeadCellZones.com, which tracks consumer complaints. The survey which found that 34 cell phones did not comply with FCC regulations requiring analog emergency call roll over was conducted by the Wireless Consumers Alliance, a non-profit advocacy groups, using the Consumers Union’s labs.
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