Awful Cell Coverage - Am I the only one?

Question

While I love the form factor, solid build and cool feature set of the iPhone, it is by far the worst phone (as a phone) that I have ever owned.
Specifically, where my other ATT phones get reasonable service, the iPhone gets no service. I have a Blackberry 8800 that I use at my home all the time on EDGE to send and receive emails. I never have a problem. In the exact same location, the iPhone reports "no service."
A related problem is that the iPhone signal strength indicator goes from 4 bars to 1 or even to no service in the same spot for no apparent reason.
Lastly, on this issue, when I am in a place that really has no service (like an elevator), the iPhone takes a long time to find service once I reenter an area that has service.
The interesting thing is that in all the reviews, all the posts, no one seems to talk about this issue.
So, I guess, this begs the question, am I the only one experiencing these issues?

Answer 1

It amazes me when people say they don't see others discussing the same problem - this issue of signal strength fluctuating has been discussed many times here, even if not featured in media reports, and a lot of iPhone users have indicated they see the same issue. Indeed, I do on mine, though I don't generally see it decline to 'no service', just vary between 4 or 5 and 1 bar, then back up.
In some ways that's the nature of radio technology though, and as I pointed out in a prior thread on the same subject a few days ago, at the frequencies cell services run, where range is relatively short and power levels low, small changes in signal or interference sources can result in significant variation in signal quality. Pager systems in my locale, whilst operating on primary frequencies well below the cell bands, generate high levels of harmonic signals close to cellular frequencies, which undoubtedly cause intermodulation distortion and disturb usable signal. If such pager systems are poorly maintained (as many are) it's therefore not at all uncommon to find better cellular quality in rural areas where they don't exist than in towns and cities where they do.
That isn't to say the iPhone may not indeed be picking up lower signal levels than other devices - that hasn't been my experience when comparing my own iPhone to other AT&T devices in my area in general though. Indeed, when I see my iPhone signal level fluctuating, others report their AT&T phones typically show good signal, but mysteriously suffer dropped calls and distortions - not uncommonly echo. It's not a scientific study by any means of course, but it does lead me to wonder if the meter on the iPhone isn't so much reacting to changes in signal as interference, which both varies and impacts other devices on the same network even if not their signal meters.
I have also noticed, however, that when moving back to an area that had previously shown full signal after 'no service' was displayed, the iPhone takes an age to register signal again. When experimenting (and I don't suggest this as a solution, I was just playing to test things) I could restore signal almost instantly by activating airplane mode and then deactivating it immediately, which tends to suggest the delay in regaining signal otherwise is likely nothing more than the delay until the iPhone attempts the next handshaking to see if it back in range.