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I have Sprint PCS. Get very good signal in Albany, all over San Francisco, all along I-80, and even while up on the North Lake Tahoe ski slopes. I do, however, get only 1 bar at work in my office building in Hercules (although it's fine when I go outside or next to a window). I have friends that use Verizon and AT&T that I go traveling with frequently, and I always get the best signal among us. I'm always lending my phone to them to make quick calls. I've had two Sanyos (SCP-8100 and SCP-6200) for Sprint that always worked very well and got very good signal. I haven't had any other phones, so I can't really compare them.

Doesn't work in the elevator or the tunnels. Otherwise it's great. Strong signals in Berkeley and Albany.

Never had a problem with Cingular's reception in my condo (Customer Service is another matter though... )

Not very good reception indoors. Usually zero to 2 bars, many lost calls. Reception is much better in Berkeley.

Pretty variable reception here - somewhat better since I upgraded from my LG VX4000, and they may have improved the signal. But dropped and missed calls are still not unusual. My next door neighbor also has Verizon and I often see them out on the sidewalk explaining that they don't get any reception in the house. Verizon has not been particuarly helpful here - often giving me BS explainations. I finally got someone who was honest and said that there are holes in their Berkeley coverage and there's nothing they can do until more antennas get approved (hard to do in NIMBY Berkeley) A year ago I moved from 2 blocks away (Marin and Cornell) - then I had flawless 5-bar reception all the time with Verizon. What a difference a few blocks can make!

Sprint gets very poor reception in the University Village in Albany, and gets mediocre reception on campus.

Many dropped calls and hardly ever any 3G coverage. It's even worse indoors.

Do not believe AT&T's "coverage" map. It's a joke; just ask anyone who lives in Albany. I'm surprised the FCC hasn't investigated them for making false claims.

If you live in Albany, do not sign up for AT&T. Cross the border from Berkeley or El Cerrito, and the signal just fades away. Last time I tried to call AT&T from my house, they told me that my reception was fine. I tried to explain that it wasn't, but my phone dropped the call. The "fix" the problem, AT&T was kind enough to sell me a $100.00 mini cell tower, but that depends on their internet connection, which is also sketchy, and even if the internet is working, the cell tower often isn't. If it wasn't for the overlapping family contracts that we have, I would drop this service in a second.

3G network never show up in this area. In the past 3 weeks, even no reception of phone. The call keeps dropping, even standing on the street. DO NOT use AT&T if you live in this area.