There are many areas in and near Los Angeles where there is no cell coverage. I have AT&T, and when I am on the bridge over one of the busiest freeway intersections in the world (the 405 and the 10), my cell service drops completely out.

There are plenty of places here that are the same way and the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area has a combined population of well over five million people. I even in Manhatten there are apparently bad or no coverage areas because my father's cell cuts out all the time when I'm talking to him. <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> Pretty ironic when you think about it. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

You can also make credit card calls when the service provider doesn't find your account in the database. It takes a lot of key presses to navigate the menu and to enter your card and expiration date, but it works.

One thing to keep in mind, for those in the US, is that different providers use different technology. Cingular, AT&T & TMobile all use the same - GSM. Sprint and Verizon each use something else. So, if you have say TMobile and are in an area that only has Sprint and or Verizon coverage, you're out of luck. The technologies are not curently compatible. Wether they are really not compatible or the various companies have decided that they wont be compatible, I don't know. Hope this makes sense, I'm fighting a nasty cold and having trouble keeping my thoughts straight.

Leo