Philly Councilman calls for hearings on Fairmont Park cell phone gap

Philadelphia City Council is planning to look into a gap in cell phone coverage within the city’s largest park.

Councilman Curtis Jones whose district includes two thirds of Fairmount Park says some black holes are interrupting cell phone coverage.

“If you fall down a hill hiking and break your leg, if you reach for your cell phone to call 911 there are parts of the park where you cannot get a signal, if you see someone short dumping or committing a crime you can’t call 911,” he said.

Jones wants wireless services providers to come before the public safety committee with proposals to fix the problem.

“We want everyone to enjoy our parks, but we want to be able to maintain connectivity and communications while in doing so.”

The councilman also wants to know why 911 calls from areas on the edges of the city are routed to suburban dispatchers.