MADISON, Wis. -- "Can you hear me now?" That's the question thousands of cell phone users are asking their cellular companies these days.

More than 203 million people in the nation now own cell phones, but not everyone is satisfied with their service, according to a recent study. A recent Consumer Reports survey of cellular users found that one in four are looking to change cellular providers.

"You'd be in the middle of a call and you'd hit a dead spot," said one cell phone user.

"Well, I'd be talking and find I'd be talking to myself," said another.

The recent survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center polled 43,000 subscribers in 20 major cities about the five major carriers.

"Poor phone service like dropped calls or no service at all was still among the top complaints," said Rosalind Tordesillas of Consumer Reports. "In fact, among those who had switched carriers within the past three years, more than half said they did because of poor phone service."

Cingular and Sprint tended to score lower in the survey. Verizon Wireless, as in previous years, was among the leaders in all 20 cities, particularly noted for its strong customer service.

But consumer advocates said there's still room for improvement, WISC-TV reported.

"Overall satisfaction with cell-phone service scored 66 on our scale of a 100," said Tordesillas. "That's lower than many services that we rate. And it's in the same league as other low scorers like cable TV and computer tech support."

Consumer Reports advises unhappy cell users to check out its survey's top-rated carriers first. Before signing a contract closely check the carrier's coverage maps, get opinions from friends, family and co-workers about which company they use and how they like the service.

Consumer experts also advise customers to wait out their contract, rather than pay the hefty fees for early contract cancellation.