U.S. Cellular

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 Consumer Reports doesn't even include U.S. Cellular in its ratings chart. Fortunately, U.S. Cellular does appear in PC Magazine's poll of nearly 20,000 readers and in J.D. Power and Associates' survey of more than 21,000 people.

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. The big advantage of U.S. Cellular is that incoming calls are free for most subscribers. The downside is that U.S. Cellular isn't available nationwide, and there's no free unlimited roaming. If you roam outside your home area, you'll be on Verizon Wireless' network, which makes U.S. Cellular ill-suited for frequent national or international travelers. Nationwide, Verizon (*est. $40 per month and up) or T-Mobile (*est. $30 per month and up) are top-rated.