I'm on UK T mobile with a good signal, but T mobile UK have no roaming agreement with Verizon. So Verizon blank your phone till you get out of range..?

I cannot get any reception whatsoever on Beech Mountain, and it's hit or miss in Banner Elk. It's not until I get nearly to Boone that it finally kicks in and actually works. If I were in the area more often, I would definitely switch from Cingular!

Great cell phone reception outside, but inside of buildings, it is very patchy.

GSM has been added to fill in reception between Roan Mtn, TN and Linville, NC. It all used to be zero in GSM. TDMA lost a tower in Elk Park area but still usable signal. Still have neither TDMA nor GSM between Roan Mtn and toward Hampton, TN. Nokia 5165 used for TDMA and Nokia 6340i for GSM. 6340i not permitted to use TDMA in NC, so far, for me.

Came back to my home on Beech Mtn this Summer and Bingo! Full Nextel phone service from inside and outside of my home. A new tower must have just been installed as 2 months ago, I had no coverage. Near Fred's I still have good service.

The last 4 years I have had great reception near Fred's on Beech Mountain. My house is closeby Fred's. This was with AT&T. They are now Cingular. I had absolutely no reception May 15, 2004. What has happened this year? There is absolutely no Service!! I have to drive to Banner Elk to make Cell calls. Looks like it is time to move to another carrier!

A tri-mode phone is needed in this area for overall reception. Some carriers have excellent reception (including one local carrier) in limited areas, but absolutely none in other areas. Verizon provides the best overall coverage. You will find the switch to analog irritating because it eats batteries, but not when you have an emergency on a snowy night and discover your phone is the only one that works.