I'm just guessing here, but it may not be the phone that is the problem. It could very well be the network. I have never been a fan of Cingular and have always thought that they have poor quality voice in my area. Verizon has always had a superior network, but they use different technology from Cingular and that may not work for you if you are a world traveler.

Maybe because you don't have a good coverage in your area. But yea switching to Verizon would be a good choice because Verizon has good coverage almost everywhere. 8700c and 8703 are almost identical in functionality. But prepare to pay more monthly. Because VERIZON AINT CHEAP. :D

Goodluck!

Verizon is not a world phone. You will have to stick with Cingular or T-Mobile for GSM technology.

Are you using the latest Cingular released OS version for the 8700C? Many people reported better call quality with the new version.

What specifically are the complaints? It does seem reception-related since you mention that you don't have problems overseas. I'd check to see whether Cingular is 850 or 1900 in your area. 850 generally works better but that is a generalization and poor tower deployment can definitely cause an 850 network to be sub-par.

Verizon won't work overseas but they do offer international loaner phones. This works well for most of their cell phone users traveling overseas but it won't be quite as convenient for Blackberry users (especially those who rely on BIS).

Have you checked into other GSM carriers that serve your area?