Christopher Null
Editor in chief, Mobile
Carriers would rather spend money on ads starring Catherine Zeta-Jones than on improving infrastructure. Instead of expanding into areas where coverage is spotty, companies are increasingly taking the cheap way out by leasing equipment and tower space from other companies. The result is that, eventually, your service will sound pretty much the same no matter which carrier you subscribe to. It's my personal pet peeve - you can complain about bad service all you want, but who can you really run to?
Fazal Bacchus
Vice president, network services, Sprint Nextel
The US is very large. It's easier to provide coverage in countries like Japan, where the population density is higher. Reception is great in South Korea because it's easy for carriers to build towers there - zoning decisions are made quickly. Customers here complain about spotty coverage, but they don't want cell sites in their neighborhoods. One thing people can do to improve call reception is lobby to get laws changed to make it easier for carriers to build cell sites.
Morgan Jindrich
Consumer advocate; director, HearUsNow.org
There's no economic incentive for carriers to improve service once they have you locked into a long service contract. So consumers have to be smart and take advantage of the trial periods that companies offer. You generally have 15 days from the time you sign up to make sure your phone's reception is OK in the areas you need it. After that, you're pretty much stuck.
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