Outdoors on the sidewalk there are 1-2 bars, sometimes up to 3. But in our 4th floor apartment there is barely enough signal to send a text message when you are hanging out the window. It has been a hellish year living with a phone you have to go outside to use. When I hear my phone ring and see who it is, I am filled with rage that I can't answer the call. Verizon said there was nothing they could do, so we're both switching to AT&T. I hear Verizon is better in general but I need my phone to work where I LIVE.

I cant believe how bad AT&T sucks here. I am in the 10th floor and dont get any reception in my office, which located not very far from the window. Verizon has better indoor and tunnel coverage and also in the boroughs. these stupid guys that do the engineering there must go back to school. it was much better last year..

Reception is only intermittent in building. Most of the time there is no reception on my floor. Have had the same experience with other phone models, so this isn't a phone issue.

very poor reception, lots of dropped calls, and many "all circuits busy" messages for me and wife (also on t-mobile). Absolutely frustrating.

Both with Sprint and Verizon, I cannot hold a call going thur the Queens-Midtown Tunnel (esp into Manhattan). No Signal mid-way thru. Conversely, I can talk with Sprint all the way thru both Holland and Lincoln Tunnels.

Upgraded to new phone and now I have 5 bar most of the time. I have the free roaming option to manually force it to be on Verizon and I only do that if I'm going into the elevator or basement because the 850 mhz CDMA signal that Verizon uses penetrates the buildings better. It should be even better when they move to 700 mhz after the digital tv broadcasts beging and they allow that portion of the spectrum to be used for voice. I'm happy with Sprint service and the "option" for Verizon if needed underground / elevators.

When I started working at W 86th and West end ave 3 weeks ago I had like 2 bars and could send and receive calls. Now there is no service within a block of the apartment, sometimes more. I called T mobile and they filed the complaint, but I don't get cell service, so I am not a happy customer. Have to use the client's phone to coordinate the work and my workers get 3 bars to full power (sprint and cingular). sucks.

Nextel is pretty good. I used to have a ton of dropped calls with Sprint, but that was 7 years ago.

Reception and call quality are amazing with the BB Curve on Verizon Wireless. I think it's function of both the phone and network though. Though I got pretty good reception and call quality with a Motorola Q9M before also on VZW, they're even better on the Blackberry Curve. I'm still lusting after the iPhone 3G though but have had an awful experience with AT&T on the first iPhone, so going back to AT&T is just out of the question.

great service all around. when compared to t-mobile, sprint, nextel, cingular(at&t), it blows it out of the water. I have lived all over nyc and my service with Verizon is impeccable. rarely do I drop a call, I think it might be my blackberry though, but besides that, no problems whatsoever.

Absolutely zero indoor reception (including main floor, upper floors, next to windows), not even enough to receive a text message. I frequently have to walk half a block from my building to get even a single bar of service. Standing outside doesn't help either.

I'm on the 30th floor and the reception is completely unreliable. I don't know if this is due to the height of the building. I've had problems elsewhere in the city, so I don't think so.

Back side of the buildings - quality dropped within the last week. Now very poor used to be ok.

Strong indoor reception. Better than Verizon (my last carrier).

Horrible reception. I get maybe one bar if lucky but even then it only stays for a few seconds. Calls are choppy and drops almost immediately. When people calls it goes straight to voicemail. Same experience with Cingular in the past with Motorola Razr

T-Mobile's coverage is far superior to the other expensive providers who over-charge everyone. Their is a huge difference between marketing perception and actual facts, and T-Mobile hands down beats ALL the competition. Now they can also gaurantee full coverage and free nationwide calling from ANY home or office for opnly $9.99 / month. Who else can do that???? Keep up the great work T-Mobile!

Never a problem with reception anywhere in midtown, downtown or uptown. i wish ATT had good reception in manhattan because I want to get an iphone. but I can't miss calls-- I use this for work!

Living in NYC, you'd think that a cell phone would work where ever you are. However, that is NOT the case with AT&T / Cingular. I can't tell you how many times I'll be on the phone and walk from the living room to the kitchen and the call is dropped. Or I won't be moving at all and the call is dropped. In addition to dropped calls, sometimes the phone doesn't even ring. People will call me and say "I've been calling you for the past 15 minutes and every time, it goes to voicemail" which doesn't make sense because I don't have the phone off and there's no reason why it should be going to voicemail. It is the most annoying thing EVER and I will be switching to a new carrier soon.

Excellent coverage throughout L.E.S. and East Village. I've heard phone models have as much to do with coverage as provider.

almost no reception in most of the areas in my apartment