it is pretty cool for me. i travel from stockton to dublin everyday. the signal is pretty good. i also travel to richmond(network has improved over the last three years)often. i found a couple of deadspots on i680 through san ramon and i580 through east oakland(i have had same results from mutiple phones). dead spots are ok because i know where they are and expect them.most of the people i know have cingular or sprint out in the bay. even just walking by most people that have a cool phone will have a cingular logo. my mobile to mobile kicks in rea tough. the city(san francisco is pretty good also. i would not trade it for the world.