Make a phone call from Mt Everest, they write.

That’s all well and good, but I’m seeking something simpler. I live in a fabulous neighborhood in Berkeley, but it’s a nearly perfect black hole for mobile telephones. I know for certain that users of T-Mobile and ATT need to wander out on the street to get a faint signal. On most days I can see various neighbors wandering along the sidewalk, trying to find that magic spot where their phone will work. Verizon users seem to be better served, and my family is planning to switch to them, damn the contract penalties.

All of the services, by the way, have coverage maps that pretend that we should get a good signal. We don’t.