Kendall, Tom and I live in a cell phone black hole. I had a cell a few years back -- bought quarterly minutes on a card -- but it didn't work anywhere around where we live or where I worked at the time. Then they wouldn't accept a debit card to buy minutes on line.
Just recently (during the Patriot's Day flooding) I was at my up the hill neighbors' after we finally found a route home, and called Jeri on their cell. A couple days later it occurred to me I should ask what provider he had because IT WORKED.
He said Verizon, which seems to have no problem pulling a signal around here. Cingular doesn't. And nothing else that visitors have used. I've talked to others and Verizon seems to have less problems getting a signal and less dropped calls than any other service around here.
When I get my new job, I'm planning to again get a cell phone -- and it's going to be Verizon.