Know any upstate N.Y. dead zones? Senator wants to know

ALBANY — U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is asking the public to help identify cellphone dead zones around New York state in an effort to see whether the coverage maps promoted by wireless companies are bogus.

The Democrat announced Wednesday that cellphone carriers claim to provide good wireless coverage through many upstate areas when in fact the service is spotty or non-existent.

To help authorities find out whether the carriers are making deceptive claims about their service, Schumer says his office has created a website to collect information on the locations of dead zones around the state.

The website’s address is schumer.senate.gov/wirelessdeadzone.

Schumer says the information provided by consumers will be given to the Federal Communications Commission.