Enacts the "cellular mapping act"; requires the public service commission to review cellular services within the state; requires the expansion of cellular services.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7406
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 15, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. HINCHEY, MAY, MYRIE, ROLISON, WEBB -- read twice and
ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
Energy and Telecommunications
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to directing the
public service commission to review cellular services within the state
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "cellular
2 mapping act of 2025".
3 § 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 91-b to
4 read as follows:
5 § 91-b. Cellular services. 1. For the purposes of this section:
6 (a) The term "served for calling" means any location with at least two
7 cellular service providers and/or at least one such provider has a call
8 completion rate of greater than ninety percent.
9 (b) The term "underserved" means any location which has fewer than two
10 cellular service providers, or such providers have a call completion
11 rate greater than thirty percent, but less than ninety percent.
12 (c) The term "unserved" means any location which has no cellular
13 service providers or such providers have a call completion rate of less
14 than thirty percent.
15 (d) The term "excellent cellular coverage" shall mean cellular service
16 of at least 25 megabits per second (mbps) download speeds.
17 (e) The term "adequate cellular coverage" shall mean cellular service
18 of at least 5 mbps but less than 25 mbps download speeds.
19 (f) The term "poor cellular coverage" shall mean cellular service of
20 fewer than 5 mbps download speed.
21 (g) The term "no cellular coverage" shall mean cellular service where
22 greater than fifty percent of speed tests fail to complete.
23 (h) The term "location" shall mean a geographic area smaller than a
24 census tract.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01755-01-5
S. 7406 2
1 (i) The term "cellular service provider" shall mean any person, busi-
2 ness or organization qualified to do business in this state that
3 provides individuals, corporations, or other entities with the ability
4 to make wireless telephone calls and connect to the internet.
5 2. The commission shall study the availability, affordability and
6 reliability of cellular services in New York state. The commission
7 shall:
8 (a) review and appropriately consider the results of the federal
9 communications commission broadband data task force's newly updated
10 national broadband map, and any future data, on the availability of
11 wireless broadband service in New York state;
12 (b) assess the efficacy and make recommendations regarding levels of
13 competition among providers, as well as any regulatory and statutory
14 barriers, in order to deliver comprehensive statewide access to excel-
15 lent cellular coverage;
16 (c) review available technology to identify solutions that best
17 support cellular service in underserved or unserved areas, and make
18 recommendations on ensuring deployment of such technology in underserved
19 and unserved areas;
20 (d) identify locations where insufficient access to excellent cellular
21 coverage is causing negative social or economic impact on the community,
22 which shall include but not be limited to: the incurment of extraneous
23 business expenses, the lack of remote educational opportunities, resi-
24 dents being unable to place calls and/or send text messages in emergency
25 situations and barriers to the proper provision of police, fire and
26 emergency medical services;
27 (e) examine any other telecommunications deficiencies affecting excel-
28 lent cellular service it deems necessary to further the economic and
29 social goals of the state;
30 (f) produce, maintain and publish on its website, a detailed cellular
31 service access map of the state, indicating access to cellular service
32 by location. Such map shall include, but not be limited to, the follow-
33 ing information for each location:
34 (i) call completion rates and download speeds advertised and experi-
35 enced;
36 (ii) the consistency and reliability of call completion rates and
37 download speeds including latency;
38 (iii) the number of cellular service providers available, the price of
39 cellular service available; and
40 (iv) any other factors the commission may deem relevant; and
41 (g) provide the opportunity for consumers to challenge the results of
42 the call completion rates and speed tests at each location.
43 3. The commission shall submit a report of its findings and recommen-
44 dations from the study required in subdivision two of this section, to
45 the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of
46 the assembly no later than one year after the effective date of this
47 section, and an updated report annually thereafter. Such report shall
48 include, but not be limited to, the following:
49 (a) the overall number of residences with access to excellent cellular
50 coverage, adequate cellular coverage, poor cellular coverage and no
51 cellular coverage and identifying which areas are served, unserved and
52 underserved for calling;
53 (b) a regional survey of cellular service prices in comparison to
54 county-level median income;
55 (c) an analysis of the affordability of excellent cellular coverage in
56 New York state;
S. 7406 3
1 (d) any relevant usage statistics;
2 (e) any other metrics or analyses the commission deems necessary in
3 order to assess the availability, affordability and reliability of
4 cellular service in New York state; and
5 (f) the map maintained pursuant to paragraph (f) of subdivision two of
6 this section.
7 4. The commission shall hold at least four regional public hearings
8 within one year of the effective date of this section, to solicit input
9 from the public and other stakeholders including but not limited to
10 cellular service providers, telecommunications concerns, labor organiza-
11 tions, public safety organizations, healthcare, education, agricultural
12 and other businesses or organizations.
13 5. The commission shall examine the labor demand of the wireless
14 construction workforce needed to achieve excellent cellular coverage
15 statewide.
16 6. The commission shall work with cellular service providers in the
17 state to prioritize access to excellent cellular coverage services for
18 the communities determined to have experienced negative economic and
19 social impacts due to absent, insufficient, or inadequate cellular
20 service pursuant to subdivision one of this section.
21 7. To effectuate the purposes of this section, the commission may
22 request and shall receive from any department, division, board, bureau,
23 commission or other agency of the state or any state public authority
24 such assistance, information and data as will enable the commission to
25 carry out its powers and duties under this section.
26 8. To ensure the compliance of cellular service providers with the
27 recommendations of the commission, the division of consumer protection
28 shall assist the commission.
29 § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
30 have become a law.
