Cell phones forum: Which phone service has the best reception?

I recently read in Consumer Reports that Verizon tested very well in many areas (states). If you live in New York City, Verizon was #1.

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Good Luck

They transmit downwards! So that's why I can't use my cell phone after I climb out above 500FT. I'm a aerial photographer & pilot hoping to use a cell phone service while in the air. How the hell did those people use their cell phones during 9/11 ?

Ok, this may be long. I was traveling by train from Illinois to Seattle, WA. I could not use my cell phone at all all the way across, I have T-Moble. A gentleman was using his cell phone so I asked him which service he had. He has Verizon! I've decided to switch as soon as I can. He used it all the way across. He also had a phone with T-Moble, just to try it and he said the T-Moble was cheaper but what good is that, he said, if he didn't work? He was sticking with Verizon.

i am in the cellular industry and have found that Cingular is one of the best for GSM(global system for mobile i.e. sim cards and the best for cdma is alltel/verizon

I couldn't agree with you more. I live in a suburban area of Fla and am a (happy) Nextel user, so I don't agree with the provider rankings; but I had 10 months of Sprint and can tell you that I would use a can and a string before I ever used them again.

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http://reviews.cnet.com/4002-7600_7-5082963.html

Thank you.
-Lee
CNET Community

People have to start understanding. Providers give minutes, reduce contracts, rollover, give ,give, give, for a reason. They don't have the coverage or the customer service to make you happy.
I have Verizon and am extremely happy with the service. I pay a little more, BUT I get great coverage and excellent service. Hope this helps.

Verizon seems to work the best of all the Wireless Providers out there. Sprint is the new kid on the block and just doesn't have the towers that the well established Verizon has. Verizon Wireless has spent over a BILLION dollars, that's correct Billion with a "B" in putting towers up to handle their digital traffic. Go to a Verizon Store, take their 14 day trial and see if it works for you. However, be careful, you may have signed a one or two year contract with Sprint and have to pay an ETF (Early Termination Fee) and you may be stuck with them until the end of your contract period unless you want to pay the ETF. Would recommend that you only sign a one year contract with whatever Company you decide to go with, hope this helps you in your decision making process.

I have ATT and was getting ok reception hit and miss signal.Then believe it or not i bought a "Generation 2 antenna booster" on Ebay and now i get perfect reception.I didn't think it would work so well but it was only 1.39 so i tried and am very happy.I don't know if it would help in all cases.I have a Motorola V60i.

I had verizon wireless for almost two years, which I wasn't that impressed with their service. Now you say that Verizon does not have the ETF, but they do. Even if you want to terminate your contract a month before it's up, you have to pay a flat rate of &175.00.

But I know for a fact that Cingular pro-rates their termination fee to $10.00 per month that you are cancelling. So if you cancelled your contract four months before it was up it would only be $40.00, which is much better than Verizon's flat rate, and most of the other wireless providers rates. And also by law all celluar companys must have a trail period of at least 15 days.

I have been very happy with the service that I have gotten from GSM. Yes, the coverage currently for GSM is limited, but only because they have only been doing this for the past 8 months. They have compensated their coverage for great rate plans,and are working rapidly to increase their coverage.

I've used, in order (I put this qualifier in because it indicates the time involved and the industry is rapidly changing; so what was crappy may be good or at least better and vice versa), US Cellular, Sprint, and Alltel. Sprint was the worst, by far, and Alltel the best. I did try a phone with sprint that had an extendable antenna at the store and could see that the reception was better there then. Sprint's customer service resembled one of the deeper levels of hell. I have not yet had a service interuption with Alltel (CDMA)nor any roaming charges and I have a relatively basic plan. I would somehow like to have a smartphone or less desireable, a phone/pda combo. I'm not yet begun to try and figure the reception into that. Alltel seems to think I'm speaking an unknown language and answers uselessly. If anybody comes up with something that is remarkably good, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!!!

1-It depends on WHERE you are in the country;
2-ONLY an alltel EMPLOYEE would make a statement like that, and
3-IF Alltel's coverage is so stinking good(lose the "good" & more accurately it just is stinking)
WHY did they come up with the "instant dropped call minute of credit"?
Think about it?
Why would You NEED that credit, or to promote it in such a rabit way unless of course You had a SERIOUS problem(more like mass exodus of customers) over LACK of coverage? read=dropped calls?
Things that make one say hmmm?
It's not MY advertising pitch....
It's "NoTel's" !
IF You Suck, and You ADVERTISE that YOU Suck, how can You not think for a minute that the folks who are smart enough to actually FIGURE OUT that You are ADVERTISING that You Suck...won't avoid You like the plague?
punchline is that alltel's coverage sucks, they contract with everybody under the sun for tower time, YOU get bumped because of same, and their answer is to give You another minute so You can abuse Your sanity some more....
Get a grip anybody who thinks alltel's wonderful and tally up Your dropped calls, then remember the frustration with each incident!

Hello:

Its weird but from my experience and from hearing others it seems like AT&T and Verizon arent necessarily that great in the cities but they seem to work great in the middle of nowhere. I was told that I would have to switch to Verizon or AT&T inorder to get any kind of cell service in the mountains in California.
Sprint seems to work great in the city but as soon as you hit the mountains it dies and goes into Rom mode.

Ask your neighbors what carriers they have and how theyre signal is. Normanlly if you live in the same area you'll probably get the same signal strength. Or ask them to come over n walk aound your house with their phone to see what provider is best.

My daughter's phone hangs up all the time. (Daily) When I visit her state, we are both using the same equipment and mine never hangs up.