lower numbers are best...That means less noise in the signal..

FWIW, I was having major signal strength problems on the 8700g with T-Mobile's "approved" firmware version. Much worse than my 7100t. Read somewhere on this board that newer versions of the firmware would improve reception. Upgraded my 8700g to the Bharti-released version and signal strength improved dramatically. A word of caution, however: T-Mobile will not support any firmware version that they haven't released via their web site. If you encounter problems, being on a non-approved version could create some problems with T-Mo's tech support.

Just one person's experience...

all carriers say that...Just lie to them and tell them you are using whatever their latest version is...

What's the weakest signal that you've observed and still had coverage?

About 110

I've never seen anything below -80db on the 8703E sprint

with the 8700G I was consistently between 40 and 80...

I think the GSM signals are different from CDMA, some one made the same observation on the verizon network

although I get better reception in buildings and tough spots with the 8703e

yah the number is just a loss in deciBells. lower better.

cdma does work differently so you shouldnt worry.

I have had in the low 30's a few times...and just yesterday, my girlfriend and I had our 8700c's side by side in the car while at the supermarket and we both had -20dbm

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8703e/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

What are all you cdma guys getting? I'm usually between 80 and 105 - verizon

Yes, on Verizon, I never once had better -80dbm..