VZW, U.S. Cellular get top honors in J.D. Power call quality survey

Verizon Wireless took top honors in J.D. Power and Associates newest call quality performance study, even as overall call quality stagnated due to more smart-phone usage, increased text messaging and more calls made indoors.
The percentage of wireless calls made indoors has increased to an average of 56% in 2011, compared to 40% in 2003, according to J.D. Power, and the percentage of calls made inside the home increased the most. Today, calls made inside the home average 35%, compared to 25% in 2003. “Among wireless calls made outside of buildings, the greatest decrease has occurred among calls made in vehicles, which has declined to 20% in 2011 from 37% in 2003. Typically, wireless calls placed indoors result in slightly more problems, on average, than calls placed outdoors,” the company said.
“The performance gap has definitely lessened between indoor and outdoor calls, and the increase in frequency of calls placed indoors suggests that many customers today are quite confident in their carrier’s wireless network,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates.
Parsons warned that operators are going to have to address call quality within the home. Operators have rolled out femtocells and are using outdoor Distributed Antenna System (DAS) networks to try to get more coverage indoors and in suburbs, where zoning restrictions hamper macrocellular deployments.
Not surprisingly, the survey found that heavy data users and heavy text users experience more network problems than the average. “These shifts in usage patterns have slowed the historic improvement in call quality, which steadily improved between 2003 and 2009. However, during the past two years, there has not been a significant change in overall call quality performance across the industry,” the company said.
For the 13th consecutive reporting period (the study is done twice a year) Verizon Wireless received top honors in the Northeast. The nation’s largest operator also pulled in top scores in the Southeast, Southwest and West. In the Northeast, it shared top honors with AT&T Mobility.
In the Northeast, carrier rankings are as follows: Verizon Wireless, regional average, Sprint Nextel Corp., AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile USA Inc.
In the Mid Atlantic, carrier rankings are as follows: AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless (tied), regional average, Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile.
In the Southeast, carrier rankings are as follows: Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, AT&T Mobility, regional average and T-Mobile.
In the North Central, carrier rankings are as follows: U.S. Cellular Corp., Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, regional average, T-Mobile and AT&T Mobility.
In the Southwest, carrier rankings are as follows: Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, Sprint Nextel, regional average and T-Mobile.
In the West, carrier rankings are as follows: Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, regional average, T-Mobile and AT&T Mobility.