The latest issue of Consumer Reports, published by nonprofit Consumers Union, comes down hard on the wireless industry in its annual wireless consumer review, referred to facetiously as an “Annual Address on the State of Consumer’s Cell Hell,” by Jim Guest, president and chief executive officer of Consumers Union.
The report details cell-phone carriers, phones and service plans in 12 cities in the United States based on the results of responses to an online survey of 31,000 subscribers to ConsumerReports.org. There has been “no overall improvement in customer satisfaction since last year,” when the group published an equally disapproving study, said Guest, adding wireless carriers now rank with cable operators on customer satisfaction.
The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association’s take on consumer attitudes is different. “Ask any wireless customer if the quality of their wireless service has improved in the last five years, and the answer is `absolutely.’ Ask them if the price of service has fallen, and the answer is the same,” said Steve Largent, CTIA’s president and chief executive officer in response to the article. “We’re a highly competitive industry, and that means we’re highly sensitive to our customers’ needs-and working every day to get better.”
The Consumer Reports article commends some major events in the wireless industry, including the implementation of wireless local number portability, the introduction of consumer bills of rights and the anticipated deployment of enhanced 911. But, although admitting these initiatives bode well for consumers, Consumer Reports said that according to its research, quality of network service, customer service and billing issues continue to plague the industry.
WLNP was a win for consumers, according to the group, but it did not come without strings. According to its research, WLNP may have encouraged carriers to spend more on advertising, but actual quality of service does not live up to those ads. In addition, Consumer Reports said although better deals are being offered, they usually come with longer contracts, early termination fees and test periods that are not long enough. The group recommends consumers read the fine print before switching carriers, and switch for better service, not better prices.
The report also came down on E911, saying 35 percent of call centers have yet to reach the first phase of E911, which allows caller’s numbers to be displayed to operators. It also warned that even with E911 standards in place, callers may have trouble getting through because of lack of service.
Indeed, in November only 24 states told congressional investigations they planned to meet the 2005 deadline for Phase II deployment. “Implementation of wireless E911 is several years away in many states, raising the prospect of piecemeal availability of this service across the country for an indefinite number of years to come,” the General Accounting Office said in a report then.
Consumer Reports believes the Federal Communications Commission can do more to improve E911, including enforce its own deadlines, bring rules up-to-date, and ensure digital phones can communicate with each other without relying on roaming agreements.
As for the carriers, according to the research, Verizon Wireless ranked No. 1 in all cities surveyed (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.) for overall satisfaction. However, even as the top carrier, Verizon’s overall satisfaction score never went above 75. According to Consumer Reports, 100 would indicate all consumers were satisfied while 80 would indicate consumers were “very satisfied,” and 60 would mean consumers were “fairly well satisfied.”
AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Sprint PCS consistently ranked toward the bottom of the ratings, while T-Mobile USA Inc. and Nextel Communications Inc. were more often closer to Verizon. Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s placement varied. After Verizon, carriers received city-by-city overall satisfaction scores between 58 and 70. Consumer Reports required 150 responses per city for a company to be included, so some carriers were not included in certain cities where they do indeed have a presence. Qwest was the only regional carrier to receive enough responses to warrant a ranking, and it placed second after Verizon in Denver.
Among handsets, LG’s VX6000 and VX4400 and Motorola Inc.’s V60p ranked top for Verizon’s CDMA network; Samsung Corp.’s SPH-A460, Sanyo’s SCP-8100 and Nokia Corp.’s 3585i ranked top for Sprint PCS’ network; Siemens’ S46 ranked top as a GSM phone offered by AT&T Wireless; Nokia’s 3595 ranked top as a GSM phone offered by AT&T Wireless, Cingular and T-Mobile; and Motorola’s V60i ranked top as a TDMA phone offered by AT&T Wireless and Cingular.
Along with its research, Consumer Reports announced a new campaign associated with its EscapeCellHell.org consumer Web site. The group is calling for
c carriers to offer better, more accurate information on coverage areas;
c carriers to pro-rate early termination fees;
c the FCC to prohibit locking down cell phones, so that handsets can be ported along with service if networks are compatible;
c and the right to know the number and types of customer complaints filed with the FCC.
Through an enhancement to the EscapeCellHell.org site, consumers can send an action item detailing those issues, with additional personal comments, directly to their carrier and federal regulators. In addition, an interactive cell-phone plan selector will be offered on ConsumerReports.org.
