A cell phone is only as good as the carrier that provides the signal. One could easily devote as much time to researching call plans and call reception as they could to choosing cell phones. Finding good data on this can be difficult, as choosing a wireless carrier involves analyzing so many variables that many online review sites wont even touch the subject.
J.D. Power and Associates has said that the level of quality on wireless phone service is so high that land lines (you remember, your house phone) have pretty much become unnecessary. But then again, there is not much that can be more confusing that statistics. See comScore Networks for example, they have it down as 1 in 4 wireless customers are not happy with their carriers service. Which such a great variation in statistics you can see that cell phone technology is still in its early stages of growth. If you were to speak to a friend and bring up cellular reception, watch out! you are sure to hear horror stories. J.D. Power and Associates also says that customers who attempted to resolve a problem using a carriers tech support/service and was unable to do so, were 6 times more prone to changing carriers. Another annoyance is that if you aren't happy with the phone itself, your still stuck to cell phone carriers contract, cancellation fees and all. These fees were introduced to help carriers maintain customers even when they are not satisfaction. Here is a quick rundown on wireless carrier ranking.
As said by comScore, Verizon as a Wireless Service Provider has continuously raked tops in both coverage and service. And, surprisingly, a low six percent of their customer break the contract.
After Verizon, AT&T comes in at the number two spot. Alltel contract breakers are higher at 9%. Sprint/Nextel comes in at 11% and at the bottom with a high ratio of customers that are breaking their contracts at 15% is T-Mobile.
Please note that the comScore survey above is not location specific. It is also using the percentage of people that are breaking the contract as the main factor for determining carrier popularity. However J.D. Power and Associates survey does indeed verify Verizon Wireless as the leader, but also goes on to add that this is true more so in the Northeast, as Verizons coverage is the strongest there. And T-Mobile, scoring the lowest with the comScore survey, actually ranked number 1 in the Southwest if you go by the J.D. Power and Associates survey. Also Verizon ranks lower when it comes to the phones that run its service in CDMA technology rather than GSM. As a result, Verizon cell phones do not normally accept SIM cards. This prevents them from being used when traveling overseas. As well the cost of Verizon wireless service also ranked as more expensive. So while Verizon's customer service did get top marks, its bills tend to be confusing to read.
J.D. Powers and Associates also says that in the Southwest, Sprint is very popular. But at the same time concedes that in terms of call quality Sprint rank very low. A PC Magazine survey also confirmed the latter statistic. However PC Magazine also ranked T-Mobile as the best carrier in terms of pricing, second only to Alltel. As well T-Mobile has a wide range of cell phone in which you can use its service and since T-Mobile uses GSM you can use a SIM card enabling international use.
In terms of Prepaid cellular service. The winner is Virgin Mobile with the highest marks. After them is TracFone and then T-Mobile respectively. Verizon and AT&T follow in order of decreasing popularity. And then Sprint/Nextel comes in last.
Which carrier you choose may depend not only on how many phone calls you need to make but also on what part of the country you will be using your phone. Also if you travel a lot internationally and even what type of cell phone will best suit your needs. It pays to do the research and ulimatley avoid being trapped in a contract that you are unhappy with.
J.D. Power and Associates has said that the level of quality on wireless phone service is so high that land lines (you remember, your house phone) have pretty much become unnecessary. But then again, there is not much that can be more confusing that statistics. See comScore Networks for example, they have it down as 1 in 4 wireless customers are not happy with their carriers service. Which such a great variation in statistics you can see that cell phone technology is still in its early stages of growth. If you were to speak to a friend and bring up cellular reception, watch out! you are sure to hear horror stories. J.D. Power and Associates also says that customers who attempted to resolve a problem using a carriers tech support/service and was unable to do so, were 6 times more prone to changing carriers. Another annoyance is that if you aren't happy with the phone itself, your still stuck to cell phone carriers contract, cancellation fees and all. These fees were introduced to help carriers maintain customers even when they are not satisfaction. Here is a quick rundown on wireless carrier ranking.
As said by comScore, Verizon as a Wireless Service Provider has continuously raked tops in both coverage and service. And, surprisingly, a low six percent of their customer break the contract.
After Verizon, AT&T comes in at the number two spot. Alltel contract breakers are higher at 9%. Sprint/Nextel comes in at 11% and at the bottom with a high ratio of customers that are breaking their contracts at 15% is T-Mobile.
Please note that the comScore survey above is not location specific. It is also using the percentage of people that are breaking the contract as the main factor for determining carrier popularity. However J.D. Power and Associates survey does indeed verify Verizon Wireless as the leader, but also goes on to add that this is true more so in the Northeast, as Verizons coverage is the strongest there. And T-Mobile, scoring the lowest with the comScore survey, actually ranked number 1 in the Southwest if you go by the J.D. Power and Associates survey. Also Verizon ranks lower when it comes to the phones that run its service in CDMA technology rather than GSM. As a result, Verizon cell phones do not normally accept SIM cards. This prevents them from being used when traveling overseas. As well the cost of Verizon wireless service also ranked as more expensive. So while Verizon's customer service did get top marks, its bills tend to be confusing to read.
J.D. Powers and Associates also says that in the Southwest, Sprint is very popular. But at the same time concedes that in terms of call quality Sprint rank very low. A PC Magazine survey also confirmed the latter statistic. However PC Magazine also ranked T-Mobile as the best carrier in terms of pricing, second only to Alltel. As well T-Mobile has a wide range of cell phone in which you can use its service and since T-Mobile uses GSM you can use a SIM card enabling international use.
In terms of Prepaid cellular service. The winner is Virgin Mobile with the highest marks. After them is TracFone and then T-Mobile respectively. Verizon and AT&T follow in order of decreasing popularity. And then Sprint/Nextel comes in last.
Which carrier you choose may depend not only on how many phone calls you need to make but also on what part of the country you will be using your phone. Also if you travel a lot internationally and even what type of cell phone will best suit your needs. It pays to do the research and ulimatley avoid being trapped in a contract that you are unhappy with.
About the Author:
Cathy L. Kimble wrote this article to compare the various carriers. She uses Verizon Wireless Phones because they offer superior service. She gets her Verizon LG Cell Phones at cellkraze.com. They sell them without the contract.
No comments:
Post a Comment