How Does Your Wireless Carrier Rank ?
Here are some interesting data points culled by yours truly. I also spoke to cell phone experts over at comScore Networks who have recently come out with a report titled: Wireless Industry Analysis January 2007.
T-Mobile is the wireless carrier with the country's highest customer-complaint rate, according to Federal Communications Commission. T-Mobile?s rate of complaints -- on everything from billing, marketing to early termination fees -- was consistently higher than competitors in the second quarter of 2006, according to complaints received by the FCC and obtained by PC World through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Billing Complaints
* T-Mobile ? 0.9 per 100,000 customers
* Cingular ? 0.45
* Sprint/Nextel ? 0.42
* Verizon ? 0.31
Carrier Marketing Complaints
* T-Mobile ? 0.15
* Cingular ? .09
* Sprint/Nextel ? .085
* Verizon ? .085
Early Termination Complaints
* T-Mobile ? .2
* Sprint/Nextel ? .13
* Verizon ? .08
* Cingular ? .06
Telephone Consumer Protection Act Complaints (wireless spam, telemarketers, and artificial or prerecorded voice messages)
* Sprint/Nextel ? .02
* Cingular ? .008
* T-Mobile ? .008
* Verizon ? .005
Overall Complaints
* T-Mobile ? 1.29
* Sprint/Nextel ? .67
* Cingular ? .6
* Verizon ? .5
Given the total number of wireless subscribers, the number of FCC complaints is relatively small. Most consumers don't file complaints at the FCC's Web site. Most irked wireless customers instead register complaints with sites such as Better Business Bureau, Planetfeedback.com, and My3Cents.com.
Top complaints, according to those filed to the FCC for all data available in 2006, are billing followed by marketing, and early termination fees.
Here are the latest major carrier subscriber numbers:
* Verizon: 54,000,000
* Cingular: 58,700,000
* Sprint Nextel: 52,000,000
* T-Mobile: 24,000,000
Wireless Satisfaction by Carrier
Nearly one out of four of the 220 million US cell phone customers are not satisfied with either their wireless carrier or the plan and handset provided by the firm, according to comScore Networks.
In 2005 the cell phone industry hit rock bottom in the category of consumer satisfaction with a wireless phone service, according to J.D. Power and Associates. In 2006 there was a 5 percent jump in consumer satisfaction with wireless services.
Most improved categories, for wireless customer satisfaction, are network reliability and the perceived value of wireless plans offered to consumers, according to J.D. Powers and Associates. Jumping 2.5 percent was satisfaction understanding fees on their bills. An important area seeing no improvement is wireless customer care which showed no improvement from the 2005 low.
According to comScore when it comes to the likelihood of switching cell phone providers before the end of a contract T-Mobile, with 15 percent of respondents, are the most likely. The next most likely wireless customer to break a contract are Sprint/Nextel customers, at 11 percent, followed by Alltel at 9 percent.
Verizon Wireless customers were the least likely to break their contract (6 percent) and also least likely to switch providers once their contract was over, according the comScore report. Verizon Wireless customers were also the most satisfied with their wireless carrier. Cingular / AT&T Wireless customers also some of the most satisfied with their carrier as well as their wireless plan, according to comScore.
How satisfied are you?
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You show 2 different scores for VZW, which is correct, the 11% or the 6% according to the comscore report?
According to comScore when it comes to the likelihood of switching cell phone providers before the end of a contract T-Mobile, with 15 percent of respondents, were the most likely. The next most likely wireless customer to break a contract are Verizon Wireless customers, at 11 percent, followed by Alltel at 9 percent.
Verizon Wireless customers were the least likely to break their contract (6 percent) and also least likely to switch providers once their contract was over, according the comScore report. Verizon Wireless customers were also the most satisfied with their wireless carrier.
I've been a customer with VerizonWireless for about ten years and never truly had a problem with them. In the past I've had about three droppd calls totaled in one year; not bad in my opinion.
The only two things that I am not happy is the choices of cell-phones and that VerizonWireless locks the cellphones that they have. However, since I use my cell-phone mainly for making and recieving calls all other things are a not that important. I don't really care about being able to play games or view music videos on a cell-phone; that's fine for others but not for me. Overall I am happy with Verizon and will continue to be a customer of theirs; unless they start acting like T-mobile.
Forgot to add that it seems kind of funny how T-Mobile has more of a selection of cell-phones than VerizonWireless and yet T-Mobile is the one with the most complaints.
JD Power rankings
Regions* Carrier Ranking in Highest Satisfaction
(2006 Award Recipients)
Northeast
T-Mobile (tie)
Verizon Wireless (tie)
Mid-Atlantic
T-Mobile (tie)
Verizon Wireless (tie)
Southeast
T-Mobile (tie)
Verizon Wireless (tie)
Southwest
T-Mobile
North Central
T-Mobile (tie)
Verizon Wireless (tie)
U.S. Cellular (tie)
West
T-Mobile (tie)
Verizon Wireless (tie)
Doesn't look like T-Mobile is doing so badly to me.....