Verizon Wireless Claims Top Spot In J.D. Power Network Quality Rankings
Verizon Wireless already grabbed headlines earlier today with the announcement that pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge would go live on April 1. But the company has even more cause to celebrate thanks to J.D. Power’s “2015 U.S. Wireless Network Quality Performance Study.”
J.D. Power’s semiannual study ranks America’s wireless carriers based on the following ten “problem areas” that customers may encounter on a daily basis when using their cell phones and tablets:
- Dropped calls
- Calls not connected
- Audio issues
- Failed/late voicemails
- Lost calls
- Text transmission failures
- Late text message notifications
- Web connection errors
- Slow downloads
- Email connection errors
While Verizon’s performance is admirable, it should be noted that overall complaints about wireless connectivity have increased year-over-year. In the 2014 study, problems concerning “mobile Web connections, excessively slow mobile Web loading, and email connection errors” stood at roughly 14 PPO. That number increased to 17 PPO for the 2015 study, which surveyed over 27,000 wireless customers from July 2014 through December 2014.
“Smartphone users send a high volume of calls, text messages and emails, which strains carrier networks,” said J.D. Power senior director Kirk Parsons. “Given the increase in network connection problems, carriers providing faster and more reliable connections may have a competitive advantage, particularly for cellular tablet owners, who have a high propensity to switch carriers in pursuit of quality connections.”
AT&T came in second place overall with T-Mobile taking the third place spot. Sprint, however, came in dead last. Sprint can chalk up its poor performance to landing a last place position in five out of six regional tests.
