I've used three phones to date in this area: a Nokia (3 bars), a Treo 600 (2 bars), and now a Motorola 551 (4 bars). Since switching to the Motorola I've had no dropped calls, no static, and clear reception. A LOT of the problems on AT&T / Cingular's GSM network has to do with the phone you have and location; I get horrible reception in Astoria, Queens but great reception in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

Need more towers. Very poor to no reception at all.

Even outdoors with a clear sky and a fully charged phone, I got static and dropped calls. This happens everywhere in the city. I also think it was the fact that they gave me a bottom of the line phone. It was so cheap it felt like a toy. They also charge you for other things that most cell phone services include as a part of the plan. I think that ATT is the worst of the cell phone companies. Maybe now that they've merged with Cingular they'll get better.

I've had T-Mobile since they were Omnipoint and then Voicestream and have been mostly satisfied with the service. Only thing is that they still don't have coverage in a lot of places. I took my cell phone on vacation to VA in 2001 and discovered to my dismay that it was useless; they had no service there. Then I went to CA this past Dec and found out that even though TMobile had service out west, that I was roaming on Cingular's network, so I couldn't take full advantage of my minutes. I would recommend TMobile, but they need to expand their service so they can truly be a national plan. They also need a wider selection of phones and a better upgrade plan.

I've only had Verizon for a little over a month, but my experience has been good so far. Just switched from TMobile, which also had good reception, just a lousy selection of phones. I bought the phone in CA and migrated here to NY. Perfect reception in both places, even in elevators. No static, no dropped calls. I especially like the fact that no matter where you go in the US, you're not roaming.

Sprint PCS really does suck! I just got my 3rd replacement phone and it doesn't work, I would call Sprint to cancel but I can't, It doesn't hold a charge and I can't even log on to the network to send a text. I would use a can and a string before I spend another dollar with sprint. James

Very good reception, but only average selection of phone models to chose from

No service at all in office. Have to go out into the street where the service is intermitant.

Up until recently, reception and call quality has usually been fine. For the past couple of days, however, I have been experiencing dropped calls (irrespective of the location of the person with whom I'm talking). When I look at the reception meter, the number of bars fluctuates quickly from 2 to 5. Could this all be a function of a failing battery? I've had the same battery for a couple of years.

Perfect reception.