AGOURA HILLS, Calif.-Incumbent cellular carriers are providing formidable competition to
personal communications services carriers, according to J.D. Power and Associates’ Personal Communications Services
Report, which is an offshoot of the company’s 1998 Wireless Satisfaction study covering 21 markets.
Cellular
carriers have transitioned their networks to digital and are competing head-to-head with PCS, said the report. As a
result, PCS carriers have lost their lead in call quality, which is a key driver of customer satisfaction, said the
report.
In addition, cellular carriers have responded to PCS carriers in terms of pricing by instituting plans that
bundle large packages of minutes. They also are taking advantage of their broader network coverage, said the
report.
“PCS providers are experiencing strong competition from existing cellular carriers,” said Peter
Dresch, director of telecommunications market analysis at J.D. Power and Associates. “Notably, customers who
subscribe to digital cellular service are as satisfied with their service as PCS consumers, proving that digital technology
with its superior quality and additional features is an important factor influencing satisfaction.”
Overall
satisfaction with PCS service is down on an aggregate basis compared with 1997, influenced mostly by a sharp decline
in satisfaction among Sprint PCS customers in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore market, said the report. Overall
satisfaction among cellular customers remains about the same.
Sprint PCS in San Diego and BellSouth DCS in
Charlotte, N.C., are the top performers in overall satisfaction, surpassing Pacific Bell Mobile in San Francisco and San
Diego and Sprint operations in Washington, D.C./Baltimore and Dallas, said the report.
Average monthly usage has
increased from 147 minutes to 200 minutes for all wireless users. PCS customers use their phones about 268 minutes
per month, compared with 164 minutes for non-PCS users.
The analysis is based on interviews with more than
1,500 PCS subscribers, 200 Nextel Communications Inc. customers and more than 8,000 cellular customers in
households with incomes of $25,000 or more.
