Coverage comments are submitted voluntarily by visitors around the Columbia, MD area.
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I've been using Nextel for the past few months in multiple locations, but mainly in the Columbia / Clarksville / Ellicott City area. I've noticed that Nextel has you covered completly outside. You will always get full coverage outside... the problem is indoor coverage. In older buildings (mainly building that do not have shielded insulation), the signal stays very strong. In newer buildings (with shielded insulation), good look getting a strong signal. You will want to keep your phone on a belt clip so it will ring... and when you answer, go to a window with the Antenna up. Overall, I am satisfied with Nextel because unlike some providers, you can always get a signal outside in the MD area.
When traveling around the Columbia / Ellicott City / Clarksville area, I found that Virgin Mobile (Sprint) coverage is terrible. I'm not talking, 1 bar, I'm talking nothing. In village centers, at schools, there is signal, but nowhere in between. Sprint generally gets good service (because you have a tri-band phone and can roam to Verizon's network). Virgin Mobile only uses Sprint's digital network and does not get great signal in my area. In terms of the Eliots Oak Rd. issue, this seems to be a problem with all carriers. A dead spot. I currently use Nextel, and I get 0-2 bars. My friends use different carriers. AT&T gets 0-1, Cingular gets 1, Verizon gets 1, T-Mobile gets 0-1. Annoying living here and getting a phone call. Virgin Mobile (Sprint) is by far the worst though.
