Why does my cell phone reception vary depending on the area I'm in?

Why does my cell phone reception vary depending on the area I'm in?

TJ McClearin (Business Manager, Infinity Wireless, LLC) gives expert video advice on: How do cellular phones work?; What is the difference between a "locked" and an "unlocked" cell phone? and more...

With regards to the basics of cell phones, cell phone reception comes from a large tower that comes out of the ground which transmits a signal. The tower transmits a beacon and that beacon transmits it via a wave. That wave is an actual radio frequency that sends a signal from the tower to the handheld cell phone device. When that wave is in any way disrupted, you see deterioration in the signal strength and therefore have low cell phone reception.