Verizon topped all six U.S. regions in a J.D. Power wireless network quality study.
The company had between six and eight reported quality issues per 100 mobile connections in each region, whereas carriers overall had nine to 10 quality issues per region.
Sprint ranked at the bottom in each region, just behind T-Mobile. The results were itemized for each company in the survey even though they are now a combined entity.
Researchers urged carriers to prioritize call quality, since it is the most cited problem in the survey. On average, carriers had 12 call issues per 100 mobile connections.
The survey was based on responses from more than 33,000 customers across six regions: Mid-Atlantic, North Central, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and West. The study was fielded from July through December 2020.
“Mobile phones have evolved from their roots as a voice-only product to provide incredible network-connected, app-driven experiences,” said Ian Greenblatt, J.D. Power managing director, in a prepared statement about the wireless network quality study. “While there is room for an identifiable boost in call quality satisfaction, the hardware of modern phones [is] not the culprit of call quality problems: ensuring the prioritization of call quality within network traffic will improve their voice experiences, and with it, overall satisfaction.”
Quality is an issue for many carriers as they seek to have enough spectrum to deliver clear calls that aren’t dropped, especially during peak times. Verizon topped most categories in a previous J.D. Power mobile quality survey, as Telecompetitor reported.
Joan Engebretson contributed to this report.
