Don't have any reception-If I do get anything I usually have to dial area code (Even for local calls)... Then it will more than likely get dropped.-Very very unhappy!

Spotty reception at best, and none with previous Sprint phone. The coverage map shows a triangular-shaped area with the point towards the southeast - it is fairly accurate. If I walk down my driveway, I exit the triangle, and lose reception. If I walk into the woods behind my house, reception improves. Sprint told me reception would be better with better phones, best with their Blackberry. Reception is passable when driving between home and Charlottesville on Carter's Mountain Rd.and 53 by Monticello - it goes into and out of roaming a couple of times. It does not get that dependable until the Michie Tavern side of Carter's Mountain.

ATT does not work on Garth Rd.past owensville Rd.and starts getting spotty once west of Foxfield. Someone that has Alltel has great coverage out here.

With three different Sprint phones I have had for 5 years, I have had great reception in Charlottesville (and the USA) with Sprint. Where I loose service is just at the traffic light at Ednam Dr.and Ivy Rd (just near Boar's Head Inn), in the back woodsy area of Ednam Forest (Wellington Dr.and Wellington Place), inside of Walmart (except near the make up section), on hilly and windng roads (and some deep pockets of dirt roads) along highway 20 (maybe 2-3 miles past Darden Towe Park, as you drive north [away from Pantops]), and on very farm-rural areas of 29 north on the way to Washington DC. Other then that, I get GREAT reception, and so does my husband, using his palm pilot / phone with Sprint as the carrier. I would rate the reception as Perfect, if it weren't for loosing reception in the back of Ednam Forest, at my friend's house). Up on the hill with the good views and while walking throughout Ednam Forest I get great reception, just not at that one woodsy area in the back of Ednam (it's kind of in a dip in the hills). On U.Va. campus the Sprint works great too. I think it looses reception in Marshall's too, but not in Harris Teeter or Whole Foods.

I get no reception at all in any number of locations. The folks at AT&T hav been attentive, but nothing ever gets resolved. They look at their maps and assure me I should be getting the calls I never get. They say things will improve sometime in 2009, but in the meantime I'm virtually without a cell phone.

Even if I get 2 to 3 bars, I usually don't get dropped calls and get all of my calls, etc. The only times I don't is when I'm in a big auditorium or basements (aka during class so I don't need to use it anyways). Sure when I was in new dorms, my service was craptacular at best, but now that I'm out in Dillard (and when I'm in Bice as well), I have great service! (minus elevators)

AT&T sucks! they are terrible and they will rip you off! They have the highest charges of all the carriers and their customer service is never available. Do not use AT&T

We have a lot of trouble with Verizon, undelivered voice messages, not being able to place a call! they suck!

I have drop calls almost every day and calls that do not ring in but the voice message does. I went to the Sprint store today and told the clerk about my drop calls she said it was the first time anyone every told her about drop calls! I realized after I had left the store I didn't ask her how long she had worked at the store and yes maybe today was her first day. I'm just not happy with Sprint service and if by chance this was not the clerks first day at work I'm not happy with the honesty of the employee of Sprint.

I do not get Verizon service features such as "Get it Now," "Mobile Web," phone software updates, and sometimes voicemail. The reason I cannot get Verizon features is because they go through AllTel and other carriers for reception. I cannot order a new Verizon phone online because when I enter my zip code it says they do not provide service.

In my apartment I have between 0-2 bars of reception, with many dropped calls and very spotty voice quality. Outside my phone seems to perform slightly better, but service highly vulnerable to peak-usage-related service disruptions, with game-day or weekend nights often resulting in almost total inability to place or receive a phone call.

Coverage has always been very good around Charlottesville. Remember, though, call quality is a combination of the phone and the carrier. Read some reviews before you choose a phone. What I really need to mention, though, is that Sprint customer service is TERRIBLE! Long waits, and the odds are about 50% that you'll get someone totally unhelpful. They socked me with international roaming charges 3 months after the fact and they won't even contact me regarding a resolution despite promising to do so twice. If customer service is important to you, stay away from Sprint.

We have nationwide coverage which does the trick for us. Usually not really ever had a problem with dropped calls and the like. U.S. Cellular has worked for us so far, especially since they upped their coverage area to include Charlottesville, VA.

Alltel has the best coverage around Grounds in UVA, hands down. Verizon has no native coverage in Charlottesville and rides on Alltel's network, so one could check out their reviews too. Living in Bice, Alltel is about the only company that allows you to make and receive calls anywhere in the building. Most of my friends who are on Cingular / AT&T or T-Mobile have to stand right next to a window or go outside the building.

Sprint has many areas we found that do not connect with roaming. We found areas at JPJ, Barrack's Road, the Mall, 29, and Pantops where you had signal but it would not connect to roaming. Many dropped calls even on West Main, and on the Downtown Mall. Customer service is just the poorest we have ever had with a cellphone carrier.

My girlfriend has Verizon and it frequently kicks my T-Mobile butt. In many areas she only has 2 or 1 bar, but she can still maintain a clear call without dropage. IN the same areas I either get 3 bars with frequent drops or no bars at all. It's too bad Verizon is unavailable from a local store. Also, many of the phone's features (such as downloading ringtones) are turned off while she's in Charlottesville because it's on a extended network. But the voice quality is good!

T-Mobile has decent coverage in the Charlottesville City area. Although I cannot confirm this, coverage has improved slightly in recent months. T-Mobile sells some really crappy phones that cripple coverage, such as some low end Motorola phones. My Motorola L6 can get signals (clear voice and no dropping) in areas where my older phones couldn't (no bars and frequent dropping). When going with T-Mobile, get a good phone! Can't comment on rural areas, but in my limited experience it is bad. You can't even maintain signal on some parts of I-64.

Have to be outside of house to use phone. Battery runs down by mid afternoon from trying to connect. Works fine a quarter of a mile up the street towards town. My neighbor, across the street, has the same problem. We need a cell tower on Birdwood to serve Bellair, Ednam, Farmington, and 250 West.

I had a few problems getting reception in my apartment not far from campus with Sprint so I found this site looking for reviews. The person posting on April 23, 2006 was a huge help. I am just backing up those statements by saying Alltel really does a great job around here, much better reception than any other carrier that I know of and I have friends that use them all. I no longer have to look for a window to use my phone inside and coverage all over campus wher I spend most of my time and Charlottesville in general is great.

Pretty good reception around town and the North Grounds. A little spotty in my Barracks West apartment, but it's a basement place, and I still get reception if I'm 6 feet or so from one of the windows.