Cell Phone Advice solicited

[alexxkay]

So, I am getting sick of having crappy cell phone service, and am looking to upgrade. The things I'm most concerned about are reception in specific places, and I can't really find that out from the providers. If you have a cell phone service that meets (or is known to *not* meet) any of the following criteria, please leave a comment below.

- Good reception inside buildings in Dorchester.
- Good reception inside buildings in Quincy.
- Good reception while underground on the MBTA (especially the Red Line).
- Good reception inside the downtown Boston hotels (for use during SF cons).

I know all of these are (individually) *possible*, because I see people talking on cells in these places. It would be great if I could get all of these, but even *one* of these (reliably) would be an upgrade over what I have now.

Comments

[be-well-lowell.livejournal.com]

Somewhere in the last year or so, the various services have put together much more accurate maps of their coverage levels. You can check their websites to compare the relative emphasis on the places you want (compared to two or three high-coverage reference areas, like, say, Rt. 93 in South Boston and State & Broad in the financial district, for reference).

However, you will probably do better to focus on upgrading your phone rather than your service. Some phones manage vastly better reception than others (mostly as a matter of antenna gain, which means the smallest phones will tend to do more poorly). There are plenty of knowledgeable review sites on the web, but at least as reliable would be to keep track of which specific phones you see people using in your preferred locations. [And unlike finding out which service they're using, you can do that just by looking -- no need to ask them about it.]

[Although I work for a giant cellular equipment manufacturer these days, I don't have any special professional knowledge in this area. And I don't talk on the phone much; cellular or otherwise.]