Heard on the Beat / TECHNOLOGY : PacBell Mobile Rated Best L.A. Audio Quality

Pacific Bell Mobile Systems had the best audio quality among mobile telephone providers in the Los Angeles area, according to a study by Irvine-based Comarco Wireless Technologies Inc.

The study, which looked at five carriers in the Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, gave Pacific Bell a score of 3.76 out of 5. The next-best carrier scored 3.54.

Comarco, which supplies testing and measurement systems to cell phone operators, declined to name the other carriers or their scores.

The area’s high density and number of cell phone users makes it particularly difficult to serve, while some of the area’s valleys and canyons can also be troublesome, said Michael Burdiek, Comarco’s senior vice president.