When a natural disaster strikes, cellphone users deserve full bars — whether they’re customers of AT&T, Verizon or Sprint, Sen. Chuck Schumer urged Sunday.
As Hurricane Irma pounded Florida, Schumer called on Congress to pass a bill that would require cellphone companies to provide service to their competitors’ customers during emergencies.
“In an age when people only have cell phones, we have to make sure in an emergency they can use them,” the New York Democrat told reporters. “When these cell towers fall and power lines collapse, cell service takes a hard hit. The least of it is not being able to be in touch with your loved ones. The worse is its a real safety hazard. When someone’s stranded and a cell tower is down and they can’t call for help — that’s an emergency.”
The bill, dubbed the Securing Access to Networks in Disasters (SANDy) Act, would also arrange for 911 calls to connect over Wi-Fi hotspots during emergencies, and direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency to do more to get communications equipment back up and running after a disaster.
A version of the bill passed the House of Representatives after Hurricane Sandy, Schumer said, but it died in the Senate.
Lawmakers reintroducing the bill now hope to see it attached to one of the upcoming bills authorizing aid packages in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, according to the senator.
“This kind of legislation can save lives. It won’t cost very much money. It just requires coordination from independent companies to start working together for the good of the community,” Schumer said.
