Many carriers, however, program their base stations to reserve bandwidth on their networks so that continuing calls take priority over initiated calls, on the idea that it's more of a nuisance to lose a call in mid-conversation than to wait an extra minute or two to dial. If you've been unable to place a call at all, that may be what's at fault. The strength of a carrier's network doesn't entirely depend on where base stations are placed, however. Verizon, like other carriers, employs engineers who pore over data in dense population areas to try and figure out how to best use their network. The available spectrum around FedEx Field, for example, is adjusted so that more is available when football season starts.
Cellular networks are likely to remain a work in progress for the foreseeable future.
The work is never done. Wireless carriers still like to predict a rosy future, but not everyone is optimistic about the odds of seamless cell-phone service. Eugene Signorini, a wireless mobile analyst for the Yankee Group, tends to doubt that the industry will be able to get network capacity ahead of customer demand anytime soon. When you're looking at explosive growth over the next few years . . . Sort of like Beltway traffic, in other words.