I have to drive 4-5 miles in any direction to get a steady / reliable bar. On a perfect day, I can get one bar when sitting on the front porch with the phone in question held high and at a distinct angle... but the call trying to be made is always dropped. This must be a blackhole for cells out here... however, my brother has Cingular and an old Nokia candy bar style phone and his works everytime... with 2-3 bars. I wish vendors knew more about their home areas and had better knowledge about phone reception capabilities between the various models.