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5 bars at home and in the local area for the most part. At my work ( a hospital) it is very spotty. I usually switch to edge since I get better reception that way. Overall northeast Ohio isn't so bad for coverage.
 
Not sure what's up w/ all the anectodotal responses. Just look at the AT&T 3G coverage map. (Verizon likes to show it all the time ;))

http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/popUp_3g.jsp

Edit: Tried to post the 3G map for the entire US from AT&T's website, but I forgot they won't let you see the entire map....just area maps...LOL. Here's a 3rd party source.

http://www.cellularmaps.com/3g_compare.shtml

Well "anectodotal" evidence is often more acurate than trying to believe the corporate story with their so called 98% coverage maps.

Thanks to the people who responded to this thread...its genuinely interesting to read other peoples real world experience of getting a signal....in general it seems the US has better widespread reception than I had anticipated. I think the UK has some way to go still.

My favourite olde worlde pub on the south coast has no UK phone reception at all, but sometimes...on a clear day I do get a connection with a French provider with its signal bouncing across the English Channel! It's at that time I hope nobody calls me as I'd be paying for the call!
 
I have had AT&T since the iPhone 3G and have only had occasional signal loss when in a building in a remote area. Other than that, my AT&T experience is just as good as when I had Verizon. I must also say that When I call AT&T, my customer service experience was much better than with Verizon. I am happy with AT&T and recommend them.
 
I live in a town of about 20000 in Michigan, and I get super fast and strong 3G coverage everywhere, including the much smaller surrounding cities. My speeds regularly hit 3mbit/s, and i've never had a dropped call.
 
Here in Omaha, NE it is great. There used to be a problem in a mall but it was fixed a few months ago. Not much 3G outside of the city but I spend 98% of my time in the city.
 
I live in southern Maryland about an hour south of Washington, DC. I have full 3G service everywhere I go. I have better service and fewer dropped calls with AT&T than I did with Verizon.
 
Well "anectodotal" evidence is often more acurate than trying to believe the corporate story with their so called 98% coverage maps.

Thanks to the people who responded to this thread...its genuinely interesting to read other peoples real world experience of getting a signal.

What I'm getting at is even the maps show that very little of the US is covered by AT&T 3G.
 
I'm in the Newburgh, NY area (60 miles north of NYC) and 3G coverage is not good. A few miles north, at my house, there's great 3G, right where I don't need it. There's an Air National Guard base and an airport here with no 3G coverage at all. Lots of pilots who have lots of iPhones that could use some fast data, but only edge coverage that, no kidding, is so slow as to be useless.
 
To the OP's original question, most rural parts of America do in fact have 3G coverage... but not with AT&T. Verizon (and what was formally Alltel) is known for really getting coverage out to the areas without a lot of people. If you want an iPhone and live out there, however, you're out of luck.
 
Also, I second what's been said about Florida. AT&T 3G coverage is great here. I have a theory that maybe Florida & the southern states get better coverage because this is AT&T's home turf. If I were to get traditional landline service at my house in Florida, it would have to be through AT&T... but landline service at my apartment in New York comes through Verizon, which has terrible cell service through AT&T yet excellent service through Verizon.

Coincidence? Am I tugging at strings here?
 
I am in Southern California and I always have 5 bars and 3G! I took a trip to Vegas a couple months ago and I had good reception the whole time until we visited Hoover Dam and I was on 1 bar with EDGE, but it was kind of a mountainous (Spelling?) area. I've never had a problem with AT&T, ever.
 
5 bars all the time :) unless underground on the subway :)

How great would coverage on the subway be?
I mean yeah, people yelling on their phones wouldn't be too great, but whenever I'm by myself on the subway I always wish I could browse around Facebook or something to pass the time.

This article was from three years ago: http://gothamist.com/2007/09/20/nyc_subway_stat.php
They wanted to put service in all NYC subway stations but they just keep putting it on hold and I don't think even 14th st & 23rd st got service installed three years after they said it would.
 
How great would coverage on the subway be?
I mean yeah, people yelling on their phones wouldn't be too great, but whenever I'm by myself on the subway I always wish I could browse around Facebook or something to pass the time.

This article was from two years ago: http://gothamist.com/2007/09/20/nyc_subway_stat.php
They wanted to put service in all NYC subway stations but they just keep putting it on hold and I don't think even 14th st & 23rd st got service installed three years after they said it would.

IT would be amazing. I know some have it but at the stations..
 
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