Who's the best and worst rated cellular carriers in the country? Consumer Reports just released its annual survey and some of the findings may surprise you!
The winner is: "Consumer Cellular"! Huh? Who the heck is that? While US Cellular and Verizon scored highest in this year's ratings of national cell-phone standard service providers, this little underdog was the overall winner. Consumer Cellular specializes in no-frills cell phones and service, and interestingly uses AT&T’s network. Interesting because AT&T found itself at the bottoms of the ratings for the second year in a row.
US Cellular has a coverage map that’s nationwide, yet its service area is limited to 26 mostly Midwest States, but Consumer Reports calls it a standout in almost every respect.
What put Verizon in first place of the big carriers? Survey respondents gave very good scores to Verizon for texting and data service satisfaction, as well for staff knowledge.
T-Mobile was below Verizon and Sprint but continued to rate significantly better than the higher-priced AT&T, which recently withdrew its application to the FCC to merge with its better rival.
If you like pre-paid service, TracFone got top ratings, followed by Straight Talk, T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile.
Consumer Reports says its survey of more than 66,000 of their subscribers found bigger is not always better when it comes to cell phone companies. “Our survey indicates that subscribers to prepaid and smaller standard-service providers are happiest overall with their cell-phone service,” said Paul Reynolds, electronics editor for Consumer Reports. “However, these carriers aren’t for everyone. Some are only regional, and prepaid carriers tend to offer few or no smart phones. The major carriers are still leading options for many consumers, and we found they ranged widely in how well they satisfied their customers.”
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