I recently bought a Nokia 3360 to use on ATT's digital network. It gets terrible reception in my apartment and makes it impossible to have a conversation, but it's fine other places. Do those little flat metal "antenna boosters" advertised on TV and the web do any good? I'm considering ditching the service since it's within 30 days, but I'd rather keep it if I can find a good solution.
No, those strips are a gimmick only. This fact has been discussed here numerous times. Don't <u>expect</u> any carrier having service in residential areas. It is not their fault they don't. Local and county governments, public interest groups and others have blocked the carriers from expanding coverage much beyond business areas and major highways. Initially, the intent of wireless phones was to provide mobile users telephone service. Those with the power to decide, still feel that way. IF (and it is a mighty big IF) you find a vendor that does, it will probably be Verizon or ATT (and maybe, in the midwest) Cingular. And yet you indicated in your region that not even ATT does. So, try Verizon.
I'd like to add to what Kevin said. The proliferation of cell towers (ugly! eyesores! radiation hazards!) everywhere is being met by serious community opposition in many places. You are most likely to get the broadest reception from the older established (read indigenous wireline phone company) carriers in your area who built the early cell systems back in the (very late) '70's or early '80s before the opposition groups got organized. This more or less excludes the current batch of PCS carriers (VoiceStream, Sprint, ...). The early systems were originally analog and were erected when people still thought cellular service was "important" -- and when the "phone company" still wanted to actually provide service to its customers, not just take there money. Analog (despite what many people contend on this and other newsgroups) is still the service that reaches the furthest and is available most places. It is the universal roaming protocol where digital service isn't available (or where the "correct" digital service isn't available). So if anyone is going to provide service to your apartment, it is probably going to be the local telephone company's wireless subsidiary -- and it might be analog service only. My second choice would be whoever has had cellular towers in your area the longest -- or more precisely, whoever now owns the cellular towers that have been in y our region the longest. Don't be surprised if the original company has been sold several times since the towers were built.
Thanks for the info. I've been through the local phone company's subsidiary (Pac Bell now Cingular), and the oldest and most established cell company (Cell One now ATT). Both are downright unusable unfortunately at my location. I guess there's a Sprint tower really close to my place, so I'll go with them I suppose. I've definitely heard my fair share of dissapointing stories about them too, but on more of a macro scale.