Mobile Tech Special

Cell Phone Woes: America’s 10 Worst Cities for Mobile Phone Reception

Are you plagued by dropped calls? Is your download speed slow as molasses? Well, that could be because your metropolis is on this list. As part of TIME’s look at how wireless technology is changing our lives, we partnered with data firm OpenSignalMaps to find out which cities had the spottiest service.

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1. Bakersfield, California

By Aug. 17, 2012
Macduff Everton / Getty Images

Population: 352,428

Worst Carrier: AT&T

Best Carrier: Sprint

The spottiest metropolitan cell phone service in the U.S. can be found in Bakersfield, a city between Fresno and Los Angeles. Although in this case, the popularity of the town may be a culprit: Between 2000 and 2011, the population increased over 40%, which means there was a rapid increase in signal-hungry phones, too.

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