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Or service so full of static, it leaves us asking, "can you hear me?"
ABC 2 News consumer reporter Denise Dory checks to see which services keep us talking.
200-milllion people have cell phones, but not everyone is happy with their service.
So what's being done to make sure you get the service you want?
Call 2 Action went to work, and asked 2 of our areas biggest wireless providers what they're doing for you.
People talk a lot about their wireless service providers.
"Cingular was always a dropped call, even from mile to mile, call would come in and next time it would, yea I got rid of Cingular and got Verizon"
For *Cingular* subscriber Cassandra Maxey, it's exactly the opposite.
"I’ve had no problems with it yet, and had a phone with someone else and it seems to work better than the other people with the V"
Just about everyone has something to say because so many people are using wireless services.
"In Baltimore area, nearly 70 percent use a wireless phone. Higher than Nat Ave which runs 60-65 percent"
But not all wireless subscribers are happy customers.
A consumer reports survey of 50-thousand wireless subscribers shows there's plenty of room for improvement.
"Overall satisfaction with cell phone service scored just 67 out of 100 in our survey. That's lower than auto insurance, cable TV, and HMOs."
One of the biggest complaints: problems with getting through.
"More than 2/3 of the people surveyed had experienced a dropped call in the past week and more than half had experienced poor sound quality or no service at all."
To make sure your calls get through, wireless providers log thousands of miles a month testing their network's coverage.
At Verizon wireless, Greg Booze is a real life "can you hear me" guy.
"That’s our job, to go out to see what customer sees"
He drives more than 5-thousand miles each month in a 300-thousand dollar car. It's equipped with a bank of wireless phones, preprogrammed to continuously dial.
And use synthetic phrases to test quality and clarity of the calls.
"Lets me know if I dropped a call or low signal areas
"When you make a wireless call, signal goes from a cell phone to a tower like this one
"Two things we look for- can you get a signal, and can you keep the call up for entire duration"
That means companies test both the coverage of their network and it's capacity to carry calls, data and text services.
"Really trying to increase depth of coverage in suburban and rural areas. Trying to get the coverage to the customer where they live, work and play, basements, grocery stores, and banks"
That includes building new cell sites. Some of them hidden in flag poles, trees and church steeples.
"Last year in Washington/Baltimore, put up 100 cell sites, 69 in Maryland. This year doubling efforts."
Verizon wireless says they spent 300-million-dollars in this area last year. All in attempts to make sure your network is reliable, especially during peak times like evening nights and weekends, when the lines are the busiest.
So who tops consumer reports list this year?
It was Verizon. Getting the best ratings from the consumer magazine for the 3rd year in a row.
Nearly one third of the people questioned by consumer reports say they are seriously considering changing their wireless provider.
If you're in that group, we have some advice for you.
First, confirm the total monthly cost, including taxes, fees and surcharges. These can all add up.
Don’t lock yourself into a long contract, it will seem endless if you're not happy with your service.
And ask about a trial period, so you can make sure you have reliable service where you need it.
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