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

Very poor to no reception in many parts of Tenleytown, especially indoors. Calls that do get through are more likely than not to be randomly dropped. The situation is only slightly improved when standing outside.

I just switched from Sprint to AT and T. I was fed up with horrible Sprint customer service. We got two KRZR K1 GSM phones to use here and abroad. On both phones we often hear loud echoes of our voices, get constant dropped calls and often can't get signals around the Washington area. I'm switching to Verizon for local and buyng the GSM phones overseas with their own Sim cards. Luckily, I'm still in the 30 day return period!

Sprint is a very poor service. I live in D.C. and calls drop. Some calls go straight to voicemail when the phone is on. I had the phone diagnosed because all Sprint customer service reps insist it is the phone since they show great coverage and a lot of towers. Well the Sprint Repair shop says it is not my phone. The phone works fine! I am in Chicago this summer and the calls drop and voices sound electronic. I normally hear every other word. In So. California most places I can't get a signal at all. Plus, Dan Sprint Rep # 60852. hung up on me. I wanted him to note in their system that he could barely hear me for 10 minutes of a 20 minute call. He would not. He said a contract is a contract, I will be a Sprint customer until Aug 2008. Please don't sign up for sprint. It is cheap but not absolutely worthless. Plus expect 20-30 min hold times to speak to a rude customer service person.

I have been using a useless phone for almost 2 yrs now. I intend to switch 1st day after my contract is up! I get absolutely no reception in my building at 6th and E. If I accidently leave it on when I arrive at work in the morning my battery drains almost instantly!

even though I get 4 to 5 bars of reception showing, I actually can rarely make a call from inside my house. And when I do, I usually have to wait 30 seconds for the phone to find a tower.

No reception on 1st floor of Lauinger Library in the Gelardin New Media Center

While Verizon generally offers excellent coverage around the city (including underground on Metro), my wife and I get one or zero bars inside the Safeway. Calls fail to go through or are dropped.

I have very poor reception in my unit on the 2nd floor of a large, brick building. I must stand near the windows to so much as send a text message. The reception in the street is better, but still below average. I think the topography of Adams Morgan plays a large part in the poor reception problem.

T-Mobile--clear signal, no dropped calls yet in NW DC.

don't mean to rub it in... but Cingular works for me!

Sprint is absolutely the worst service ever. I have a contract with them until 20008 and I am a poor student and STILL I am desperately seeking to get out of this contract. I called them SO many times to complain about my service and try to get a better deal for this service to no avail. I hate them. Even people I know that work for Sprint say that Sprint sucks. If you live in DC and are about to get a new service provider, choose ANYTHING BUT Sprint. It's ruining my social life, private life, and now even my professional life. I'm surprised I haven't turned into a loner hermit, thanks to Sprint's sucky service.

Only time I had a problem was when I temporarily lost the antennae to my phone. Other than that, flawless.

Reception is fairly weak all over campus, though mostly satisfactory outdoors. It is difficult if not impossible to send and receive calls in many buildings on campus, especially Leahy, Caldwell, and the Pryz.

I was so pumped when I got my Smartphone about a year ago, but I was living in Missouri at the time. Since I moved to DC about 9 months ago, I have been regretting my purchase, because my phone doesn't work with any other carriers except T-Mobile (of which I have not heard great things) and I can't have a conversation on this phone inside my house or in my office building. I haven't switched yet is because I use Windows music player and Outlook all the time and I have a 2nd cell from work (Sprint) that gets decent reception. Cingular also works great almost everywhere else in the country, and I travel a fair amount. All the same, maybe I should switch... I know Verizon does well in DC, but does anyone know how well it works in the rest of the country? What about international roaming... ?

I have called Cingular support over and over again over the last several years to complain about the poor reception. It just gets worse. Zero bars, No Service even if I hang out the window. Drops just about every call. There are towers just 0.6 or a mile away just about 6 or 7 blocks. They do NOTHING. Seems with all the embassys around there should be better service here in Glover Park NW DC. I might mention that service at the intersection of Wisconcin and Calvert St. NW DC has improved but that is it. Calvert and Tunlaw forget it. Calvert street west of Tunlaw is HORRIBLE.

No reception whatsoever in buildings on Bolling AFB, and no reception in most areas away from buildings and trees! I have to go all the way down to the waterfront to get any decent amount of reception! Most of the time, I have to go near a certain window in my building to get reception, and even then it's only 2 bars max! I'm not sure if it's Cingular or the phone, but i'm thinking that i'll be switching to Verizon in the near future!