Spotty Cell Phone Signal Contributes to Rancher’s Death

photo credit: Reliable Coverage?

Southern Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is demanding cell phone service providers, Verizon and AT&T expand and strengthen their signal coverage in Southern Arizona. Congresswoman Giffords specifically wants better service for the region along the border where rancher Robert Krentz was murdered.

Spotty Cell Phone Signal Contributes to Rancher’s Death

Rancher Robert Krentz was allegedly murdered by an illegal immigrant working for a smuggling cartel. The lack of reliable cell phone coverage was a contributing factor, the family claims. It does give new meaning to Verizon’s ad “Can you hear me now?”

As a California rural resident, I can relate to the frustration of spotty coverage. I have to cross “the abyss” traveling my daily commute to and from work. My friends are used to being “dropped” and then recalled when I am through the dead zone. For me it is just an inconvenience. Obviously for rancher Krentz, it was a life and death situation resulting in tragedy.

Is network coverage driven by the Almighty Dollar? You bet! Southern Arizona’s Mexican border probably isn’t populated by a huge number of cell phone subscribers so the coverage update schedule is no doubt low on the priority list. Will congressional pressure bump them up on the list? We’ll see.