I decided to try Verizon when I saw them now selling service out of the new Wal-Mart. I've got some family in Roanoke that's always bragging about them. Even though I had an Alltel line I decided it would give me free mobile-to-mobile minutes to my family on Verizon. But it was the worst mistake I'd ever made. Verizon may be good for bigger cities but it's horrible here. Verizon says they'll improve in the future but co-workers at Crutchfield say they've been saying that for years. It's not bad in downtown Norton, but through Wise County, I spend so much time in 'Extended Network' roaming on Alltel. Coeburn, Wise, Big Stone, many places in Norton including Guest River, Ramsey, and past the Dollar General going toward Appalachia it's the same story. Texts don't get delivered sometimes because I'm roaming. I've called Verizon numerous times to complain but they keep telling me to bring the phone to the nearest Verizon store to get it checked out, THAT'S IN KINGSPORT. Wal-Mart only sells service they are not a full service retail location. Check all the small print and be sure Verizon works at your house before you buy because in a lot of places in Wise County and Norton it's just paying more for worse service than Alltel will give you. I guess including roaming on Alltel it's not totally bad, but it will hold onto a bad Verizon signal until it completely fades out before switching over. Just looking back on my decision, it seems I made a bad move paying Verizon's prices, getting fewer minutes, fewer texts for the price, and having worse coverage.

My fiance and I moved into a townhouse in Old Town Alexandria in Nov 2006. We both have a Motorola V557 phone and absolutely no signal in our home. We've talked with customer support more than we talked to with family and here's the verdict. We've been told we have "the best reception" at our location, yet somehow, we're still unable to use our phones. After several rounds of exchanging our phones for new / refurbished phones of the same model, we still had no luck. So, the next step was to obtain new SIM cards, because somehow, both of ours were possibly flawed. Shockingly, that also did nothing to solve the problem. So, here we sit after 4 months of shoddy-to-no service with 2 useless cell phones and no real impending solution. Cingular may be good in some places, but if I have to watch one more "fewest dropped calls" commercial, I'll scream! Verizon is the ONLY way to go in the DC metro area as far as I'm concerned.

sprint reception is TERRIBLE in my house. Sprint says that we just happen to live in a dead spot which is incredibly frustrating. I have heard from many people here (including william and mary students) that Verizon is much better.

No reception between Emporia Va and South Hill Va. I travel that hwy every week. I would hate to get a flat tire or accident. I wouldn't be able to get help.

Everything forwarded to voice mail. NO reception!

My Verizon cell phone is useless in my house. I'm lucky to get 1 bar. Most cell phones used in my house also get poor signals.

Always drop calls in this area, have changed phones within the same contract, nothing works. I use other people's Sprint or Cingular phones in those areas when I can use my Nextel. I have no problems with the other carriers.

I cant believe just off in the woods there is a tower here, yet as soon as I hit this junction and beyond it for a mile or so I get nothing but a message telling me my signal has faded. My bud goes home the same way and his Nextel also does the same thing. After a mile or so towards Purcellville the phone will kick on to a roam. Watch those roaming charges!

VzW's proposed CHAPEL ACRES cell site at rr8616 Pohick Rd (Calvary Korean Baptist Church) is still being held-up by Fairfax County DPWES officials, with latest bond payments made 1 / 24 / 07 per county's LDSnet web tool. The site is now supposed to be fully in-service by the first half of 2007, assuming the County staff doesn't stall it any longer. Until that time, there is very little usable signal for VzW users, especially those living near the low-lying streambeds and lake districts nearby. Closest legacy VzW sites are over 3-5 miles away near Newington, Lorton, Butts Corner, Five Points-Burke VFD, West Springfield, etc., none being close enough to provide adequate signal strength for more than a few seconds -- hardly enough to place / receive calls.

Awful. I have to leave the building to make a call. (But as soon as I leave the building, even on the patio, the wireless internet cuts out.)