up and down, but generally weak.

Actually get good reception on a Samsung flip phone that is 2 years old (3-4 bars). Lower floor of 2 story condo. Do get dropped called downtown 6th and Congress on Sprint. Bought a T-Mobile Blackberry Curve 8320 a week ago and only get 1-2 bars and already 2 dropped calls, one in the middle of a T-Mobile store survey... Might try Verizon...

Phone constantly bounces between (E)dge and 3G coverage - shotty call quality at best - and constantly miss incoming calls. AT&T's maps show this to be a good coverage area - what a JOKE! I get better data and voice service with tin cans and string.

Fluctuating 0 to 2 bars at my house, phone does not ring reliably, don't get messages until I call out. Brand new phone, have tried 3 in the last month. About 10 calls to customer support and 2 trips to the store. Support says there is no problem even though I am less than 1 / 3 mile from the nearest tower.

Inside apartment (1st floor of 2 story bldg) or driving / walking anywhere around the neighborhood, the signal is consistently strong.

Not impressed with the reception. No dropped calls yet but often staticy.

Excellent reception and coverage with Verizon. Have traveled all over the country and been able to make and receive calls as well as check email and surf the web in the most remote locations. Coverage in Austin has been flawless for me. I really want an iPhone 3G and am concerned about the majority of bad AT&T reviews. My neighbor has one, though, and doesn't experience any issues.

Sitting inside my condo my phone reception will randomly switch from 5 bars to no service and back again. I have dropped calls every day. I had Cingular before and also had the same problems. When I first got the iPhone it seemed to be better, but I think it was a fluke. It is astounding that reception can be this unreliable so near the heart of the city.

Reception isn't a problem in south austin, but I work out in dripping springs and there is zero reception out there (but, to be fair, the cricket map shows that this area gets no coverage)

ATT has in a matter of weeks has gone from excellent to extremely poor; cannot get reception for more than a few seconds at best. What did they do? tear down their towers?

no reception from about half a mile south of william cannon for about 1.5 miles...

Never a dropped call. Always clear. Great data speeds. No complaints or problems with Verizon in this area.

3 to 5 bars at all times but it is rare to have a conversation for more than 1 minute that does not require a re-dial. I have used a French cell phone in the Paris underground metro many times and have never lost a call - and I mean never. I don't understand why the cell service in Austin is so poor!

AT&T reception is really bad in most parts of Austin.

Signal strength jumps from 0 to 5 bars while the phone is stationary. Network jumps form [E]dge to [3G] while the phone is stationary. Calls drop routinely. Inbound calls fail to ring the phone. Inbound messages fail to appear at the phone. Most often, power cycle (on-off-on) will cause "missed call" and "new message" displays for whatever did not arrive the first time. AT&T customer service admitted that this location is "shaded" according to their engineers.

Sprint claims there's coverage, but there is none. If I'm anywhere near my apartment, I can't get calls or, if by some miracle a call comes in, it typically doesn't last any more than 5 minutes, if that, before the signal gets dropped. If it weren't for the stupid 2yr contract, I'd cancel immediately.

Does AT and T even have towers in Austin? I would think not from the reception that I get. Most calls are dropped, and before I bought another phone (it appears the one that came with my plan was made to self-destruct about a month before my contract was up), the only reception that I could get was inside of my house.

I now expect to have each and every call dropped. Even if call successful, full of static, voice of person on other end comes in and out.

no reception at all in the ground floor of mechanical engineering building

Inside the house, calls can be received (phone rings about 1 / 2 the time), but cannot have a conversation. 1 / 2 block up the street at the intersection of Lower Nautilus and Lakeway Blvd. there are 3 or 4 bars and reception is usually adequate.