Nearly two years have passed since the stateâs Upstate Cellular Coverage Task Force met to improve lacking cell phone service in rural and sparsely populated communities, but officials cast doubt Thursday the group will reconvene.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo created the Cellular Task Force, administered by Empire State Development, in September 2019. The group includes industry experts, community leaders, bipartisan lawmakers, environmental representatives and other stakeholders.
The group first met Sept. 10, 2019, followed by a handful of meetings that fall. A group of upstate legislators requested an update Thursday in a letter to Cuomo and the department.
âIn late March, we wrote to you requesting an update on the work and progress made by the Upstate Cellular Coverage Task Force . It appears the task force has yet to report on its work, nor did we receive a response from your office to our inquiry of now more than three months ago,â according to the letter signed by Se