Boston Urges Better Cell-Phone Service

MICHELE NORRIS, host:

If you were trying to reach Boston Mayor Thomas Menino yesterday, you would have needed to try his cell phone. And even then, you might have had a hard time getting through. The mayor was driving through neighborhoods in Boston to check on cell phone reception, and he found that service indeed can be spotty. Mayor Menino is with us now.

Mayor, how bad was it when you were driving through the city?

Mayor THOMAS MENINO (Boston): In certain areas of the city, there was no reception at all. I checked American Legion Highway, Hyde Park Avenue, parts of Grove Hall, parts of Dorchester, there was no reception whatsoever. It would just go blank on you. And even in downtown Boston, there were certain areas of downtown Boston--you go along the medical area, we have very poor reception also where the major hospitals of the city are, you know? So it's throughout the city that we have poor pockets of reception, and they do not exist, and it's unfortunate.

NORRIS: When you look at the areas where they have spotty reception, you noted that some of them are downtown. But do other areas have certain things in common?

Mayor MENINO: Yeah. Well, the commonality is that the residential areas of our city, where most of the cell phone is lacking and low-income areas and minority neighborhoods are not equally served as some other affluent neighborhoods of our city. And that's part of the problem. You know, they'll sell them the cell phones--every kid in the persons of color neighborhoods have cell phones--but they can't make phone calls because there's no reception.

NORRIS: So what are you going to do about all this?

Mayor MENINO: Well, we're--talked to one of the companies today, this morning, already, and they want to come with a multimillion-dollar plan they, tell us. And, you know, they want to put antennas all over the place, you know, on every structure I have and every utility pole. And I don't want that. I want to make sure that we do this in a planned area so they will not change the landscape of our city. You know, they want to put these transmitters on utility poles that are ugly as blazes. And I want to work with them to make sure that everybody has reception, but according to some of the regulations we have in Boston, it's not about just giving them service, it's about what the city looks like and how we transmit those messages.

NORRIS: Now this is not something that many other mayors have done. Is this something that a mayor of a big city like Boston should actually be involved in? Wouldn't it be better to let the marketplace work it out?

Mayor MENINO: Well, no. I think it's--my job is to protect the interests of the people. I have a responsibility as mayor to make sure that the corporations of our city are giving service to my constituents.

NORRIS: Mayor Menino, did this grow out of complaints that you've heard from your constituents, or was it born of personal experience?

Mayor MENINO: Well, both. I mean, I'd heard many of my constituents--I go to different meetings--complain about the cell service. But also myself as I drive into work in the morning, I have--most of my ride into Boston is without cell service. It's partly my frustration, but more to the point is the frustration of my constituents. I see them in the neighborhoods. They say to me, `Mayor, I bought this cell phone, but I don't know why I bought it, I can't get service.' I mean, there's the question right there. Why are they allowed to sell cell phones if there's no service that comes with them?

NORRIS: Well, you know, speaking of that, that brings to mind a piece of tape that I have to ask you about. It's a moment on NPR's air that relates to this conversation. This is from an interview that you did with "Talk of the Nation." It aired last August, and it was from the Democratic National Convention. You remember this. Can I play this a moment for you?

Mayor MENINO: Oh, sure.

(Soundbite of "Talk of the Nation")

Mayor MENINO: We'll continue to work with the public safety officials to make sure that the convention was safe. You know, and I... (technical difficulties)

NEAL CONAN (Host): Mayor Menino's cell phone appears to be running out of--a little battery problem. So if he comes back, we'll bring him back on. We'll give it just a second more to...

NORRIS: So, Mayor, did you forget to charge up your phone, or is this the problem we're talking about today?

Mayor MENINO: No. I don't have to charge my phone up. I have a phone that's charged by the battery of the vehicle. And you know, that's a good instance right there. That's last August when I had the problem, and it continues to have the problem in the city of Boston today.

NORRIS: Well, thanks so much for talking to us.

Mayor MENINO: Thank you.

NORRIS: That's Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.

We contacted the cell phone companies whose service Mayor Menino tested yesterday. Spokespeople for Cingular, Verizon Wireless and Nextel say their service in Boston is good and that they're investing to make it better. They also say their coverage has nothing to do with race or income in parts of Boston.

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