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Voice seems ok, but data has dropped off considerably in the past month or so. I used to get 4g service here just fine, but now Verizon has dropped down to 1g all over campus.

I can take my blackberry storm to friggin tilden park, and STILL GET A CALL. I hate the idea of sounding like a Verizon ad but IT'S TRUE.

I've never really had a problem with reception, ever, only when I'm (sort of) underground in the women's locker room in the gym or in the lower level computer lab in the dorms, but that is to be expected with any carrier. Verizon is pretty good. I don't know why I'm looking for another carrier, maybe it's the price, but Verizon is worth it.

Reception with Verizon for the last few years--very good in most parts of Berkeley. Previously had Cingular, was much worse. I'm at the foot of the No. Berkeley hills. Would like to leave Verizon since it's so union-hostile, but don't want to deal with the bad reception again...

Verizon is pretty good almost anywhere else in the U.S. (I travel a lot), but it really sucks at home. Dropped calls are constant. I have to wander around my house every time I want to make a call in order to find a spot that gets even 1 bar. And, it keeps changing so I can never predict where the good reception will be. The local Verizon store a few blocks away has to use a special gadget / antenna just to boost their signal in order to get reception in their own store. Of course, part of the problem isn't Verizon -- they want to put up a few more cell towers to improve reception, but some Berkeley residents are afraid of being irradiated by cell phone towers. While there is no evidence for radiation danger from cell phone towers (at least on planet earth), the minority tyrannizes the rest of us who don't wear aluminum foil suits to protect us from those evil cell phone towers. Oh, please!

Almost always have 5 bars. In foggy weather, sometimes reception does go down to 1-2 bars but I've generally been happy with the quality of reception of infrequency of dropped calls.

College Ave seems to be the achilles heel of Verizon on southside. Thing is I'm stuck with Verizon, so God willing the phone I buy later today gets a bit better reception...

As soon as I enter the "Bermuda Triangle" between Gilman street and University, I don't even try to answer or place calls, because I know I'll get dropped! I've gone through 3 phones with similar bad luck, so I don't think it's the phone.

Reception in the N. Berkeley hills is very bad. Despite reassurances from Verizon that things will get better, they haven't. Dropped calls, when you can connect at all, are a way of cell life here.

reception oscillates from multi-bar to 0. Phone cuts out at least every minute from a stable location. Probably too few towers.

We get no reception in our house and have to go outside to use the cell phone. My husband (who uses a different phone than I do) gets no reception in his downtown SF office. We can carry on a conversation in the Berkeley flats, but it's never great.

A few years ago Verizon coverage in my house was Perfect. Maybe one dropped call over a period of 2 years. Over the past year coverage has degraded. When I'm on conference calls at home, I no longer feel comfortable using my cell phone because I keep getting, "Sorry, you're breaking up... can you repeat that?" or "I think I heard what you said. Let me repeat back and tell me if that's right." I'm somewhat tempted to try out Cingular since the time I tried my friend's phone in the house and around the neighborhood. She had almost full bars all around the house and on MLK going to Solano Avenue. But I have to say the reception was crackly. It was not as crisp and clear as what I get with my Verizon phone. Who knows-- maybe it was her phone (i.e. a different model with better RF would have sounded better). Anyway, my contract with Verizon is up in November, so MAYBE I'll check out Cingular.

for 2 years i've had decent reception throughout the house, better than AT&T at the time I signed up. now that the ahsby cell tower is down I cannot use this as a business phone anymore. I am working on getting out of my contract without paying the fee as they are the ones in breach of contract.

Verizon is easily the worst service provider I've ever used. I need to go outside and walk halfway down the block in order to reliably make a call. And that call will be dropped within five minutes. And most of the five minutes will be taken up with "can you hear me now" and "can you say that again". I have contacted Verizon, and they sent one of their tech people down here with some sort of signal detector, and they agree: it sucks. In fact, it sucks so badly they have let me out of my contract and I am changing (don't know to which provider yet, that's why I'm here) without the early termination fee. If you have any intention of using your phone in Berkeley, make sure you are NOT using Verizon. If you already have Verizon, call them and make them let you out of your contract.

As good as 6 / 6 bars inside my apartment, but also some dropped calls--reception inside seems widely variable over a space of a few feet. Outside reception is excellent. Coverage on the UC Berkeley campus is generally good, although spotty inside some buildings.

Outside of my house I get about 2 bars. Occassionally dropped calls. Inside my house, I get about 1 bar, but can rarely make calls. Phone only rings sometimes. Calls usually dropped. In general, very happy with coverage in Albany, El Cerrito, Berkeley. However, coverage is poor again on the southside of the UCB campus.

Frequent dropped calls, especially during peak usage hours. Occasionally so bad I'm only able to talk for five to ten minutes w/o the call getting dropped. Unfortunately / ironically, I only seem to have problems in my immediate neighborhodd ... no problems at all from my job (near San Pable and Ashby). This is with Verizon. I previously had AT&T which was literally unusable.

Verizon is supposed to be the best in Berkeley but reception regularly drops to 1 bar near Marin and Keeler. Numerous calls lost.

Verizon is easily the best carrier for the East Bay, especially Berkeley. In the year that I've been using Verizon, I've probably dropped two or three calls. I use my phone for conference calls and nobody knows I'm on a cell phone. For a few weeks in December I tried out ATTWS GSM (the phones were soooo cool) and the coverage was Average to Below Average in my house and No Reception to Poor practically everywhere else in Berkeley and in lower Rockridge. Suffice to say, I ported back to Verizon. No more sexy phone, but at least I get perfect coverage where I need it.