Cellular Phones need reception in order to work. Good reception means a good experience, Great reception means a great one. Anyone looking can easily spend the same if not more time comparing a cell phone carrier and their plans as they would comparing the cell phones themselves. Getting proper information on this is hard. The reason for this is that the time and variables involved are so great that many online review site tend to steer clear of the subject.
As said by J.D. Power and Associates, wireless service has reached such high quality that cell phone users no longer find it a requirement to maintain a land line as well as a cell phone. It appears cell phones are enough. But as with most statistics there are combating results. According to comScore Networks, an amazing 1 out of 4 cellular customers are not satisfied. These combating statistics show how cellular technology is still in its growing stages. Even ask someone about their service, you will always get miced results, those that love and those that hate their carrier, with plenty of stories to boot. J.D. Power and Associates also finds that people who had an unresolved problem with their carrier, after trying customer service, were six times more likely to switch provider. That is were cancellation fees come into play. You see cell phone companies want to maintain their customer for good or for worse and have implemented cancellation fees to increase customer retention. Even the intro of 3G Networks, which started off with great expectation has received its share of complaints. So how do you decide on the best carrier? Well here is a rundown of which carriers rank best.
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.
AT&T (formerly Cingular) comes in at number 2. Alltel has about a 9% contract breaking ratio, while Sprint/Nextel have an even greater 11%. To top them all, T-Mobile, appears to have a high number of customer running for the door at 15%.
The above comScore survey is not location specific and uses the percentage of customers breaking the service contract as the main determinant for popularity. A J.D. Power and Associates survey does confirm Verizon as the leader, but adds that this is particularly true in the Northeast, where Verizons coverage is the strongest. T-Mobile, with the lowest rating in the comScore survey, actually ranked first in the Southwest, according to JD Power. Moreover, Verizon also ranks lower in terms of the phones that run its service, which tend to use CDMA technology rather than GSM. As a result, Verizon phones tend to not accept SIM cards (Subscriber Identity Modules) which prevents their use when travelling overseas. Verizons rates also ranked as considerably more expensive than its rivals, and though its customer service gets high marks, its bills tend to be confusing to read.
J.D. Powers also claims that Sprint has a strong popularity in the Southwest, yet concedes that Sprint also ranks lowest in call quality. The latter statistic was also confirmed by a PC Magazine survey. By contrast, PC Magazine ranks T-Mobile as the best carrier in terms of pricing, and second only to Alltel in service plan options. T-Mobile also offers its service on a wide variety of cell phones with GSM/SIM card compatibility 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.
So which carrier should you choose? Well this all depends on how many phone calls you make, what area you make them in, if you travel a lot, and which carrier offers the best phone options. Ultimately it is up to you. But doing your due diligence will help you to avoid getting into a contract you will want to break out of.
As said by J.D. Power and Associates, wireless service has reached such high quality that cell phone users no longer find it a requirement to maintain a land line as well as a cell phone. It appears cell phones are enough. But as with most statistics there are combating results. According to comScore Networks, an amazing 1 out of 4 cellular customers are not satisfied. These combating statistics show how cellular technology is still in its growing stages. Even ask someone about their service, you will always get miced results, those that love and those that hate their carrier, with plenty of stories to boot. J.D. Power and Associates also finds that people who had an unresolved problem with their carrier, after trying customer service, were six times more likely to switch provider. That is were cancellation fees come into play. You see cell phone companies want to maintain their customer for good or for worse and have implemented cancellation fees to increase customer retention. Even the intro of 3G Networks, which started off with great expectation has received its share of complaints. So how do you decide on the best carrier? Well here is a rundown of which carriers rank best.
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.
AT&T (formerly Cingular) comes in at number 2. Alltel has about a 9% contract breaking ratio, while Sprint/Nextel have an even greater 11%. To top them all, T-Mobile, appears to have a high number of customer running for the door at 15%.
The above comScore survey is not location specific and uses the percentage of customers breaking the service contract as the main determinant for popularity. A J.D. Power and Associates survey does confirm Verizon as the leader, but adds that this is particularly true in the Northeast, where Verizons coverage is the strongest. T-Mobile, with the lowest rating in the comScore survey, actually ranked first in the Southwest, according to JD Power. Moreover, Verizon also ranks lower in terms of the phones that run its service, which tend to use CDMA technology rather than GSM. As a result, Verizon phones tend to not accept SIM cards (Subscriber Identity Modules) which prevents their use when travelling overseas. Verizons rates also ranked as considerably more expensive than its rivals, and though its customer service gets high marks, its bills tend to be confusing to read.
J.D. Powers also claims that Sprint has a strong popularity in the Southwest, yet concedes that Sprint also ranks lowest in call quality. The latter statistic was also confirmed by a PC Magazine survey. By contrast, PC Magazine ranks T-Mobile as the best carrier in terms of pricing, and second only to Alltel in service plan options. T-Mobile also offers its service on a wide variety of cell phones with GSM/SIM card compatibility 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.
So which carrier should you choose? Well this all depends on how many phone calls you make, what area you make them in, if you travel a lot, and which carrier offers the best phone options. Ultimately it is up to you. But doing your due diligence will help you to avoid getting into a contract you will want to break out of.
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.