U.S. Cellular

U.S. Cellular is a regional (but still fairly large) carrier, with about 6 million customers in 26 states spreading southeast and northwest from Chicago (where the company is headquartered). In these regions, the company scores high -- even better than Verizon Wireless (*Est. $40 per month and up) for call quality in the North Central region of the United States. Another big advantage of U.S. Cellular is that incoming calls, texts and pictures are free for contract subscribers (U.S. Cellular also offers prepaid plans). The downside is that U.S. Cellular isn't available nationwide; it contracts with the Verizon network for roaming. Roaming outside of your home area is free if you buy one of U.S. Cellular's National Plans (starting at $40 per month for 450 minutes). You'll get more minutes per dollar with a Wide Area Plan (starting at $40 per month for 700 minutes), but you'll pay roaming charges of 69 cents per minute outside of your hometown and nearby cities. Like Verizon Wireless, U.S. Cellular operates on a CDMA network, so its phones won't work in other countries, which more commonly use the GSM network you'll find at AT&T (*Est. $40 per month and up) and the highly rated T-Mobile (*Est. $30 per month and up). Unlike these national carriers, U.S. Cellular's 3G data network is available only in scattered areas.

The most effective way to judge cell phone service is via owner surveys, which poll users on such variables as best network coverage, fewest circuit overloads, least number of dropped calls and most effective customer service. In this respect, U.S. Cellular is at a disadvantage. One major survey at ConsumerReports.org doesn't even include U.S. Cellular in its ratings chart. Fortunately, U.S. Cellular does appear in J.D. Power and Associates' survey of more than 25,000 people. CNET and TopTenReviews.com give an overview of U.S. Cellular's features (and those of other carriers), and users at PhoneDog.com relate their own experiences with U.S. Cellular.