We signed up for Verizon in April 2007 because we are snowbirds and their coverage is good in La Quinta, CA. However, at home in Bend, the coverage is terrible. Our calls usually end up dropping although we have two or three bars showing. The coverage in downtown and Old Mill is fine, but on Awbrey Butte it doesn't work well at all. We would switch to AT&T, but their coverage is poor in La Quinta, and we use our cell phones exclusively when we are in California. It's a no win situation for us.

I was told when I switched from Unicel to Verizon that the reception would be the same as the great reception I had with Unicel by January 15, then I was told February, now I am told March. Not sure what the problem is but I am paying for a huge plan that I can't use. I had exeptional coverage with Unicel all over the state of Oregon including BEND. Now I have zero coverage on the East side, North side and most of the West side of Bend. I have called multiple times and they are working on it. Asked about the plan I am paying for and no follow up per email from Verizon. I have a Chocolate, my kids have a Sway and my husband has a Blackberry. None of us have coverage. Any suggestions. Oh, we have dialed *228... .2 everyday since we purchased the plan.

Ever since I got my Verizon phone ( I switched from unicel when I heard Verizon was going to buy them) The service has been better than good. Unfortunately, I went to the authorized dealer on Hwy. 20( Greenwood), for the most part they did a good job, but when my moms glyde wasnt working properly they just kept saying its not the phone, and guess what... It was the phone^_^, but in the end it was all worked out

Great service. I used to have T-Mobile and didn't get the reception I needed outside of town. I also had Sprint and had lots of dropped calls. Verizon is the best I have found in this area. I went to The WirelessSouce on Greenwood and they were very helpful. The staff did more than any other place I have ever done business with. Give them a try! You won't regret it.

Even though AT&T claims roaming in Bend Oregon, NOPE, ZIP, NOTHING!

With Verizon launching service roughly a year and a half ago, I suspect they will corner the Central Oregon market. There service is superior to all other carriers with regards to both voice quality and customer service. I purchased my service from The Wireless Source (I would suggest never purchasing service from a corporate store). The sales rep was extremely knowledgeable and gave the best service, by far, that I have ever received when purchasing a phone. Verizon blows all other Central Oregon carriers out of the water!

I just got a new Dare phone from The Wireless Source on Greenwood. It is a great phone; the service seems to be the best I have ever had and I have exclusively used cell phones for the last 11 years. No more landlines for me! The people at the store were great - spent lots of time going through features of the phone and helped me understand my first bill. They did a followup call and reminded me about my rebate (I had put it in the file with my other papers and forgot all about sending it in). That saved me $50! Can't say enough good things about the people over there. Nice and efficient! I would highly recommend them!

I love my phone and the service is great. I used to have T-Mobile and can get much better reception in outlining areas with Verizon, as well as in town. I am so happy they came to Central Oregon. I think they are going to purchase Unicel, which will bring more towers to the area when that is completed. I tried the direct store on Hwy. 97, but wasn't satisfied with the service, so I went to their authorized dealer, The Wireless Source, on Greenwood near Pilot Butte. They were great, had time to spend helping me with using my device as a tethering tool for my laptop when I travel. I also like that I can change plans without extending my contract - no other carrier in town does that. I highly recommend this service and those people over at the Greenwood store.

What has happened to Nextel? My service is so poor these days? I heard the Walkie talkie portion on Sprint / Nextel is going away. Is there any validity to this?

I have had T-Mobile for several years. Service has not been well, and I'm finally tired of it. Any suggestions on the best carrier?

I have recently switched to Verizon Wireless and it is the only carrier to work at my house. There is a new little store next to Longboard Louies on the East side of Town, right off of Hwy. 20. It's called The Wireless Source. They sell only Verizon Service but it is by far the best cellular experience I have ever had. They are knowledgeable, kind and patient. They have followed up with me to see how my service has been, (which it's been great, no dropped calls, easy to use phone, etc.) made sure I mailed my rebate in, and I could tell they genuinely cared about how my service ways! 2 thumbs up to The Wireless Source. I'd recommend them to anyone! It's amazing how much great service can make a difference.

I get no reception in the interior of my home, only standing at a window (except south facing windows). I even have a signal booster in my house that I paid about $200 for. Even with that, if I'm standing just outside my house or if I'm inside and walk away from the window for a few seconds my call will be dropped. This is why I dropped Sprint, but I think T-Mobile is even worse. When I called to discuss it with them, saying I may have to switch to yet another company, their "customer service" person (and I use the term loosely) just started waiving the contract in my face saying it would cost me hundreds of dollars to terminate early. If anyone has had good reception and service in SE Bend I'd sure appreciate hearing about it. With a home based business, these cell phone companies are killing me.

Typically 0 bars, though I am sometimes able to make some calls with poor connections. Can get up to 3 bars, but is short-term and temporary. I am able to receive some calls, don't receive some, and some are dropped. Sometimes voice mail notices are not received timelly, then I receive several at once days later. Text messages typically come with little delay. To receive a decent (3 bar) connection, I have to drive into town about 1 / 2 mile or so. NOT recommended.

Does anyone know how well a blackberry works along O.B. Riley road in Bend, OR. I am thinking of the email and web functionalty. Thank you, Susan

I get no reception at all inside my house and if I wander around outside I may get reception briefly before my calls are dropped, which is totally reasonable considering in a few weeks it will be below freezing and I look forward to possibly making a phone call standing about 50 yards from my house in the snow. T-Mobile suggests I wait until they put more towers in the area perhaps I should hold my breath for two or three years.

I have to sign up with A T and T wireless phone service in order to use the 50% family plan her business offers she and her family. She works in S. F., I obviously live in Bend and I teach online and would use the email functionality to communicate with my students while awar from home. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions about A T and T in Bend? I have to decide in 2-3 days. Thank you so much, Susan

Good in most areas. Spotty in NE Bend. Get dropped / no reception in big stores when in middle, but get reception closer to doors. Good most areas of town, even inside buildings.

I think someone (perhaps Tmobile) just put up a tower this weekend. I went from virtually no reception at my house to now 'nearly' perfect! I moved to Bend two years ago and had Verizon. I wanted to switch as I always had delays on my vmail and generally poor reception. I spoke to alot of people before I changed. It appears there is no great solution or clear cut winner in Central Oregon. Bummer. One thing I've learned recently is that a no cost national roaming plan with T-Mobile (or perhaps any carrier) isn't what one would think. On my phone I can search for networks and switch from T-Mobile to USA890, which is US Cellular. However, on my travels to Hood River, I can't switch my network because T-Mobile doesn't have a roaming contract. My point being is unless there is a contract there is no signal (despite a tower being active). No roaming isn't what you'd think.

30 day no hassle trial. DON'T DO IT! I did and the reception was lousy but all you have to do is cancel service if it doesn't work, right? WRONG! I canceled the day after I received my phones via FedEX. I sent the phones back the next day with the FedEx shipping form provided. I called and canceled the account the same day. It's been two months and numerous calls. On every call a nice person says they are so sorry and I am right and everything will be straightened out. Then I get another bill or nasty call from financial services about my past due account. Talk is cheep. Verizon has poor coverage and worse customer service. Nice people don't make up for no follow through.

barely any reception in the house, cuts in and out all over, generally miserable. I'd switch to US Cellular everyone raves about but CDMA is a dying technology and my GSM P990 is a phenomenal phone (reception and sound quality in LA, Portland, or Hong Kong is great) I do NOT want to give up.