When I’m at my apartment, my phone says “Cingular” instead of “AT&T Wireless.” This has been happening for about a week.

I called AT&T to complain, and they said, sure enough, one of the cell towers is down in my area, and that’s why my phone is picking up Cingular coverage instead. However, when it does that, it’s roaming. And even though I’m on the “national” plan, I don’t get free roaming.

Of course, when I see that the phone says “Cingular,” I can just choose not to place a call from it, and therefore not incur roaming charges. In fact, when I’m at home (which is the only place I have this problem), I generally place calls from my home phone anyway.

Unfortunately, when I receive a call, the caller ID box fills the entire screen, and I can’t see which network the phone is using. So if I answer a wireless call while I’m at home, I might or might not be roaming, and if I’m roaming, I’ll be charged for it.

I asked AT&T if I can receive credit for any roaming charges incurred on incoming calls I receive while I’m at home, but they said that wasn’t possible. They will charge me for roaming regardless of whether the phone indicates that I’m roaming, and I cannot contest the charges. As an added bonus, they have no idea when my local cell tower will be operational again.

So if you’re calling me, please try my home phone first.