Editor’s Note: Wireless operators are a busy bunch, and as such RCR Wireless News will attempt to gather some of the important announcements that may slip through the cracks from the world’s largest carriers in a weekly wrap-up. Enjoy!
—J.D. Power came out with its latest consumer ranking of wireless carrier customer care performance, with AT&T Mobility coming out on top of the latest survey. The carrier garnered a score of 795 based on a 1,000 point scale, just edging out Verizon Wireless’ 790 points. Sprint Nextel came in No. 3 with a score of 771 points, which was just below the survey’s average of 786 points. T-Mobile US brought of the rear of the rankings with a score of 760 points.
J.D. Power noted that AT&T Mobility “performs particularly well in the walk-in and online contact channels and ranks above the full-service average in four of the five service channels.”
Among no-contract focused operators, MetroPCS came out on top with a score of 770 points, which could be good news for T-Mobile US – or bad news for MetroPCS – going forward as the two operators recently merged operations. Leap Wireless’ Cricket operations, which is in the process of being acquired by AT&T, was second in the no-contract survey with a score of 750 points; followed by Virgin Mobile, which is a division of Sprint, at No. 3 with 733 points.
Virgin Mobile’s sister offering from Sprint, Boost Mobile, was No. 4 on the list with 729 points; followed by Tracfone Wireless with 719 points, Straight Talk with 690 points and Net10 with 683 points. Straight Talk and Net10 are both offerings run through Tracfone.
Overall, J.D. Power found that consumer satisfaction with customer care from wireless carriers has increased to its highest levels since 2009, citing particular customer satisfaction with online channels featuring “chat” functions. Total scores across the segment increased 31 points compared with a similar survey released just six-months ago.
“The higher levels of satisfaction with online chat are partially due to the efficiency and immediacy of the experience, particularly with service issues or questions that are easier to resolve in this environment, such as billing or service/device questions pertaining to upgrades,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of the telecom services practice at J.D. Power, in a statement. “However, as carriers release new products and services to meet consumer demand, such automated systems as online chat must continue to evolve to address harder-to-answer questions related to technology support, as customers gain confidence in using alternative contact channels for convenience-related reasons.”
—O2 announced plans to launch LTE services across portions of the United Kingdom beginning Aug. 29, with initial service set for London, Leeds and Bradford. That initial launch is expected to cover approximately 5 million potential customers, with plans to add 2 million pops covered per month on its way to eventually covering 98% of the U.K. population. By the end of this year, O2 said it will have LTE service in 13 total markets, including Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Liverpool, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry, Sheffield, Manchester and Edinburgh.
The LTE service will run across O2’s recently acquired 800 MHz spectrum that it purchased at a government auction earlier this year through parent company Telefónica UK. Those licenses cost the carrier $837 million and included 20 megahertz of spectrum that came with a coverage caveat that the carrier must provide “mobile broadband service for indoor reception to at least 98% of the U.K. population (expected to cover at least 99% when outdoors) and at least 95% of the population of each of the U.K. nations – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales – by the end of 2017 at the latest.”
U.K. regulator Ofcom announced last month that it would begin allowing wireless operators to re-farm licenses in the 900, 1.8 GHz and 2.1 GHz spectrum bands for next-generation services. The move goes against current European regulations that subject certain spectrum bands to certain wireless technologies in order to ease roaming between countries. The 900 MHz and 1.8 GHz bands were initially set aside for GSM-based 2G services, while the 2.1 GHz band set aside for UMTS-based 3G services. Many European countries have begun auctioning spectrum for “4G” services in the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands. Ofcom generated $3.5 billion in bids for its “4G” spectrum auction earlier this year, which was well below expectations.
Ofcom last year allowed Everything Everywhere – now known as EE – to use its 1.8 GHz spectrum license to rollout “4G” services, a move that the regulator acknowledged would allow the carrier to “enjoy a competitive advantage during the period before other operators are able to launch their own LTE services,” but noted that any advantage would not be long lasting. EE started the rollout of its LTE services last October.
Vodafone UK announced in June it plans to increase spending on its LTE network by as much as 50% in an attempt to launch services by late summer. The company added that the spending would include both wireless and wireline assets, citing its recent acquisition of fixed communications provider Cable & Wireless Worldwide.
Vodafone UK noted that it was now on track to spend nearly $1.4 billion on its network this year, not including the $1.2 billion the company spent on spectrum during the country’s recent spectrum auction. That haul included 20 megahertz of spectrum in the 800 MHz band, 40 megahertz in the 2.6 GHz band and 25 megahertz of unpaired spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band. Analysts noted at that time that Vodafone UK needed to be aggressive in acquiring spectrum in order to regain market share in the country’s hotly contested mobile space.
The European Commission last week threw water on claims of mobile data superiority claimed by some European operators, noting in a report that three-fourths of the continents population does not have access to LTE services. The EC added that by comparison, more than 90% of consumers in the United States have access to the latest mobile technology. According to the EC, only Germany, Estonia and Sweden have “advanced roll-out of ‘4G;’” there is “virtually no ‘4G’ coverage in rural areas” across the European Union; three member states – Cyprus, Ireland and Malta – have no LTE service at all; and that Europe accounts for only 5% of global ‘4G’ connections.
–Rural wireless operator Nex-Tech Wireless announced a deal with Intrado to provide the carrier with three-digit 911 text messaging capabilities allowing all subscribers on Nex-Tech Wireless’ network to access public safety services. The service will run over Intrado’s TXT29-1-1 platform. Nex-Tech Wireless provides services across 40 counties of central and western Kansas as well as local coverage to four counties in Colorado.
Additional carrier news can be found on the RCR Wireless News “Carriers” page.
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