Seneca, N.Y.-Area Indian Reservations Lack Adequate Wireless Phone Coverage.

Byline: Fred O. Williams

Dec. 1--Sometimes, getting no signal on your cell phone is more than an inconvenience.

While driving along Center Road in the Allegany Indian Reservation, Leslie R. John saw a grass fire trickling over a field in the direction of some houses.

"I tried using my cell phone but could not get the reception needed, even though the car (power) adapter was plugged in," she said. John knocked on doors at the houses but found no one home. Finally she wound up calling the Salamanca fire squad from a pay phone, according to her account of the incident on file at the Federal Communications Commission.

Now, a Seneca business owner plans a cell phone company that would improve wireless coverage on three Southern Tier reservations. But the idea is on hold while the FCC freezes rights to the necessary frequencies.

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