[Kevin]

I sell cell phones so I may have a little different perspective here.

People need to remember that cell phones work off of imperfect technology. The signal can be effected by the SMALLEST things and there's not a damned thing the company can do about it. There are also tons of considerations with zoning and other such legal items involved with building cell sites.

YES you will drop calls... Accept it and go on with life. It is a phone, people understand (or should) the limitations of the technology. If you drop the call call someone back. If it's a huge problem, call customer service and they'll comp you some minutes.

NO they won't ever fix it.. Again dead spots are something that can't be fixed. If the conditions are right (or wrong depending on how you read this) you could be standing right next to a cell tower and STILL not have a signal.

You'll probably have the best luck with your traditional A & B carriers -- whoever the 2 carriers that have been in your market the longest are. For us in OKC that's AT&T (A-carrier) and Cingular (B-Carrier). There are also independant studies in different markets that indicate who's coverage is the best (although what is "best" may not be the best for you).

Final though: If you're going to have a cell phone it is completely unreasonable to expect it to work all the time. Read the back of your contract and it even says that.