Cingular would be great if it weren't for their prices.

Cuts out constantly. Often fades in and out. Can't hear people at times but they can hear me. Makes an odd static sound just before dropping calls- terrible!

New AT&T EDGE system did not drop out at all during a recent visit all around DC and Arlington. No reception on the Metro while underground, however. Perfect voice. Emails and messages popped in while metro was crossing the bridges.

Very good reception all around DC, even in the Metro (though spotty).

Awful Sprint reception. Sprint roams for free, but at this location there's half a bar of reception, meaning that the phone doesn't transition to roam and the calls won't go through either...

AT&T The bar indicators in my apartment facing Mount Pleasant / Rock Creek drift in and out with the wind, it seems. 1 bar then 2,3 then 1 then 0 and then finally it says, Emergency Calls Only. Went to the Westin hotel on 14th and M NW, my colleagues with Verizon and Sprint had perfect reception. I had No Network Coverage. I have to say, with my old Nokia I never had the message Emergency Calls Only. Hmmmmmmm. It does have it's benefits though. Makes people call me at home and saves me a few $ on extra minutes of bla, bla, bla... .. Bottom line is, service must be as advertised and it's not. Imagine standing next to a bus with an ad for ATT and getting no reception. Hilarious.

Sprint has really improved the DC area. I chose Sprint over everyone else, primarily because of the great coverage I have in my apartment. I'm located deep in the building with no outside windows, only one inside window which stairs at some fire escapes and a cement wall. Verizon coverage was ok (fluctuates between 2 bars to 5 bars and you notice clipping when on conversations). Cingular's clipping was more noticeable, but had the same 2 bars to 5 bars reception issue. T-Mobile fluctuates between 1 bar to 4 bars and sometimes drops the call. Since my cell is my only phone, coverage in my apartment was pretty important, so Sprint won out because of my close proximity to a tower located on the exterior of a building up the street. As far as coverage in the area, Sprint has a lot of weak spots once you get out of the downtown area, but I have roaming included with my plan, and when out in the boonies, I just force my phone to roam on Verizon. I'm satisfied with the price I'm paying and the quality of the conversations where I have proper signal. I notice that calls seem to be clearer on Sprint than when I'm roaming on Verizon. Also the Razr phone I have seems to give headaches if I talk too long on Verizon. I don't get the same headaches when using Sprint. I don't know if this has something to do with different rf emission on Sprint's 1900 PCS versus Verizon digital 800.

Hate to say it because I am irritated at the company and the software in this cheapie phone, but the reception is flawless here, inside or out. Not as good in Bethesda and disapears altogether going out 66 to Virginia.

Outstanding coverage with AT&T. I got zero bars here with Verizon.

Great reception everywhere but in my condo! Even at work around different electronics and electrical fields