Verizon gets top marks in call quality

Another day, another cell phone study from J.D. Power and Associates. This time, it's not customer service--T-Mobile, Alltel, and Verizon Wireless tied for that honor earlier this month--but a survey of the all-important call quality.

Just like last year, Verizon was the overall winner this time around. The carrier ranked highest in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Southwest regions. According to the study, Verizon had particular success with limiting dropped calls, failed initial connections, and late or failed text and voice messages.

In the Western region, Verizon tied with Alltel and T-Mobile (in its press release, Verizon identified T-Mobile only as "one other carrier"--meow). T-Mobile performed well in reducing the number of problems with echoes and distortion, and Alltel performed well in limiting the number of late or failed messages.

U.S. Cellular rated highest in the North Central region. It had fewer customer-reported problems with initial connections, static, or interference, and late or failed voice message notifications.

AT&T rated near the bottom in all regions but the Mid-Atlantic and North Central. Sprint rated in the middle or at the bottom in all regions. See J.D. Power's chart for the full rankings.

So what do you think? Does Verizon deserve its award?

[aeisha1]

yep! Verizon is awesome except for their expensive data plan.

[dylerl]

No verizon sucks, dropped calls all over the place in northern california, I hate them. I actually have the least problems with AT&T in the Northern Bay Area, Sonoma County.

The problem with these surveys are how they phrase the questions and compile the results, and what company does J.D. Power get the most money from well the answer is Verizon so of course they will skew the results towards them as much as possible, I think all the providers are the same and this is just another scam for verizon to try and get the iphone away from ATT, good luck, you wont get it until LTE is prevalent everywhere and maybe not even then. My experience is AT&T is best and then Sprint, Verizon sucks in customer service and call quality so this makes no sense except for the bribe verizon gives JD!!!

[iroq321]

all carriers are the same? are you kidding? your area might have bad signal, but that doesn't mean everyone else does.
answer me this? is it a coinsidence that my brother has to stand by a certain window at his house to get decent signal on his iphone as where i, a VZW customer, get perfect signal all throughout that same house? same thing at my house, i get perfect signal while there are spots where he gets none.
and who cares about the iphone? now a day, with all the new phones coming out, the iphone keeps looking more and more dated. you can keep your iphone, in my opinion.

[Mervtucker]

I use both carriers. My work phone is Verizon and my personal phone is ATT. When I can't get a connection on my personal phone, the ATT one. I can always get a connection on my Verizon phone. When I get the network is busy on my ATT phone at rush hour, my Verizon network is always clear to make calls. I also noticed better call quality on my Verizon phone. Oh, both phones are Samsungs and almost identical.

In November, I will change from ATT to Verizon for my personal phones when my contract runs out. The I-Phone wife will not be happy. :)

[darkpoet25]

Service varies by area. Where I live I have no problems whatsoever with AT&T. But to go so far as to say that VZW is padding the pockets of JD Power is going a tad far, wouldn't you say? Not every carrier is going to have the best service everywhere. In Indianapolis, AT&T and Verizon get the same coverage anywhere in the city, with T-Mobile being second, and Sprint being third. Some people I work with who have Sprint can't even get a signal in their apartments. All of this, my carrier is better than yours is in my opinion pointless and juvenille. If a carrier works better than another where you are, go with them, it's that simple.

[iroq321]

they absolutely deserve this honor! being a verizon customer, i am very satisfied with all that listed in the article.

[cdtphilpot]

@iroq321 your story about you and your brother is pure coincindence, I have the same issue at my girlfriends house except I'm the one with AT&T and a great signal and she has Verizon with a bad signal. I'm pretty sure the story can be duplicated over and over again. One connection at one house doesn't prove anything.

[iroq321]

agreed. i was just using those two scenerios as an example. he and i, being brothers and all, go plenty places together, to trips, errands, etc. and a lot of the times, when he's struggling to find decent signal, i'm not having any issues whatsoever. i wouldn't make a statement like that based on two houses. and i'm not saying this just to bash on at&t, i am actually out of contract now and have the option of ditching verizon if i so choose. but i know plenty people with bad experiences using at&t, mainly, but other carriers as well. while VZW phones may not be the best (which is why i havent used my new every two discount, waiting on a decent phone), their service is top notch. i would not get a flashy phone just to have a flashy phone, i need to have confidence in my network.

[tetsujin619]

That's funny. I've had Verizon since before it was Verizon, when it was still Airtouch. My brother has bounced between Cingular, T-Mobile, and now AT&T (for the iPhone). For as long as we've had our cell phones, I've always had the better signal. Just like the previous poster, we've been to many different places together and whenever his phone couldn't make a call, my phone could.

[OctoChops]

Agreed. Verizon easily has the best service.

[sam99999999]

I unfortunately agree. ATT's service is an abomination between major cities (such as the I-5 corridor between SF and LA). You barely have any bars and data service is 1G on much of the route (forget 3G or even 2G).

Their "more bars in more places" is just BS. You can have bars but try making a data connection.

[dan herrman]

I have had them all. I live in Dallas area and moved from CA. My verizon smartphone was slow and dreopped calls in the same spots every day.
got a blackberry bold from ATT and it is super fast 3g and i have never had a problem trveling out of DFW to STL, SAT, AUS, LTR. OKC, MCI, TUL, ELP, WIC - must be ATT territory because it is the best phone and network i was ever on.
i think it has to do with your device and the area of the country. with my VZ phone in OC it dropped call all the time but all over the place, in
Dallas my VZ phone was good except for certain areas to where I would tell the person i was talking to that I was going to lose them and would call right back.
my vote goes to T.
Verizon is n ot even Verizon, it is Vodephone from Europe who owns 45% of that network

[raffr]

umm who do you think owns the other 55%? Yep Verizon.

Verizon has always been the best in the areas I have lived (GA and KY). Best call quality out of any carrier in those areas. Fewest dropped calls as well.

[azadam24]

Mother of all creatures great and small people! You seem to have forgot you are dealing with a WIRELESS SERVICE!!! No matter the provider, due to the nature of the beast (that being that it's WIRELESS!), everyone from VZW to Sprint to Alltel to T-Mobile to MetroPCS to Cricket will ALL have different results in different places! What happens when you take your cordless phone (attached to a landline) outside and keep walking further and further away from the base station? The connection becomes at first distorted and then lost entirely! Wireless is NOT wired and as an employee of every single carrier for over 10 years I am sick and tired of coverage complaints! Ya know what? Ya don't like it then GO SOMEWHERE ELSE and then moan about THEIR coverage!!! Yeah, yeah, wah wah mommy, I don't want to pay the ETF to get out of my contract. Then you should have TESTED the phone where you use it the most during your 30-day grace period during which you could have been released from your contract at no charge! At which point you could go with Cricket or MetroPCS which don't have contracts or credit checks, provide unlimited service, and even roam on the major carriers networks as well - heck they even have smartphones now! VZW didn't bribe JD Power, anymore than anyone bribes Consumer Reports for their annual review of automobiles - it would forever taint their reputation(s). Coverage varies from market to market and from place to place, period. Until people realize they are using A WIRELESS PHONE and NOT a WIRED one, my guess is that moronic postings such as these will continue, and the poor phone and store reps will continue to endure the unending whining, ad nausem, of their "I used to ride the short bus to school" customers...

[cnetter99]

Well you get a big fat DUH! What you my short bus rider need to understand is that it is far more than "WIRELESS SERVICE" and these companies spend millions getting us to use their "most reliable" networks. The technology is at a point where coverage issues should have been resolved in most major markets by now. Maybe if they spent less on commercials and more on signal quality they would not need the commercials. Based on your response it is no wonder you have had so many jobs in ten years especially since you are rather insulting. Unlike my home phone when you move out of one towers range with a cellular phone you are supposed to be picked up by another. I don't anyone reading this is stupid enough to think they are on a "wired" phone and I doubt they appreciate being called morons. We all pay a small fortune for cell service and we expect the cellco's to live up to the hype they spew all day every day. Now go Google "cell phone theory" and educate yourself. DUHHHHHHHHHH.......

[nopity]

first you are right regarding cell service. People need to understand that companies like at&t do spend quite a bit of money on network infrastructure, and that cell signal can be degraded over a number of things: building materials, landscape, other big or major electronics can also deflect or absorb signal ( this counts with buildings and landscape as well). You also have to realize a tower cannot hold an infinite amount of voice calls or data connections. There are limits. I see a lot of people who say they hate verizon or sprints customer service. Also with at&t they use a SIM card which as a profile written to the chip that tells the phone how to negotiate with the network, if these do not get updated or get "burned", that is bad info written, then the cell signal and voice quality will suck. There is also the phone itself, but there are always several things that can cause poor reception. Not defending a network over another, but they each have strengths in certain areas and weaknesses in others. The goal is to find the one that works best where you live. Just remember a cell phone is a sophisticated, and fancy, two way walki talkie.

[brynn08]

all that doesnt matter......what matters is their the most expensive co bar none....ill never over pay them justy becuz of there so called service...

[pearljim10]

do you know how to spell? is english not your first language?

[BobbyD1948]

I live in the Northeast and have both an AT&T and Verizonwireless account. Unquestionably, Verizon has the best voice quality, coverage area and virtually zero drooped calls. With AT&T there are more dropped calls. For me the saving grace of keeping my AT&T account is because in some medical facilities in Philadelphia AT&T has Verizon beat. Other than that and the iPhone, I would drop AT&T like they drop my calls, here one moment and gone the next.

[Absolution2009]

I started with Cingular, then AT&T, then T-Mobile, then Verizon. When I hit Verizon, I loved it too much and never swapped to Sprint. If however, I am unhappy with Verizon (doubtful), I'll go Sprint next but I've went through a contract with other carriers and after the contract ended I had enough.

Needless to say, I'm not surprised. The only bad part is Verizon charges more-but with Corporate discounts, (26% off monthly bill equipment etc.) it doesn't turn out to be that bad.

[iroq321]

26%? i hate you. i only get 22% =[. still, it does help.

[Absolution2009]

er I hit the wrong button I have 22% too. I wish it was 26% but yeah, it helps a lot haha.

[bet2007]

Man, I only get 20%

[Neumenon]

I always receive exceptional customer service from Verizon and an excellent signal and functionality anywhere I go.

I think AT&T is for people with heads filled with poo because that just have to have their little IPhone on a crappy network and prefer really horrid customer service. They probably have Macs or run Ubuntu and think they are living the high life.

Not.

Silly commoners.

(titter)

[ropo153]

People who run Ubuntu are nothing like Mac users

[MeepMan]

Ubuntu is meant for people who want a superior product for a superior price (for the user). Therefore, the 'ubuntu user' would be the Verizon customer...

[FranklinH10]

I had Alltel for many years and i changed to ATT to save a few dollars. Now, i can't get ANY bars inside many steel framed buildings where I work and I miss lots of calls. When they talk about "more bars in more places" they must be referring to world wide coverage for people who are standing outside. Several people I worked with had Nextel; they couldn't get service inside buildings either.One guy called Nextel about not being able to use his phone inside a building and was told that you have to be outside.People were amazed that I could get service anywhere I went in the building,even the basement, while they all had to go outside or stand next to a window.I must have been stupid to fall for ATT's saturation advertising and I can't wait for my two years to be up so I can get back to Alltel or Verizon.

[pitusim]

Nextel isn't a really reliable carrier. It's mainly used for outside because it's designed for the walky talky functionality and for construction workers.

[dylerl]

No Apple is for us Elites that are above commoners, if you do not understand why then stick with windows and you will always be down on the ground level!!!

[make_or_break]

You being sarcastic? Kidding? Or just another Apple Jerk?

[viper396]

@make_or_break. Of course he's being sarcastic. Only an emotionally and socially delusional idiot would go around thinking mere ownership of a phone, which anyone can buy, can somehow elevate their social stature. He's still the same loser at the end of the day.

[pkennedy]

bottomline.. Verizon is a nitemare... switched over from Alltel middle of July.. always had excellent service in this area with Alltel for the past 10 years... in s/e NC at the NC-SC border along the coast north of Myrtle Beach.. always had 3 bars showing on our Alltel phones... not anymore... one bar if we're lucky... most times one to NO bars... can't even get service at times... they've switch us from an Alltel plan to a Verizon plan back to a Verizon plan using a hybrid Alltel hookup ... and who knows what else... obviously they have no idea what they're doing..

and as far as Verizon's customer service is.. it is BAD..as in it suxxx... 2 1/2 hrs trying to get a tech on the line two days ago..... I am not kidding... they kept on dropping my calls using my landline.. then I had to start all over again .. thru a screening process just to put me thru to a tech...

that was after trying to get a tech to look at our phones at the Myrtle Beach Verizon store the day before... had to get thru a sales rep to do it.. and he wouldn't ... so it was a phone calling marathon... with zero results as our service is as bad as it was when we switched to Verizon 30+ days ago... if Verizon is supposed to be the best what in the heck are these other carriers like... yowsa...

as we were hoping for Verizon to accelerate the switchover/takeover of Alltel looking back now we wish we had our old Alltel back with our old antiquated Razr phones.. now have two new LG phones.. my LG env Touch and my wife's env3.. so much for new tech... wow...

[intexas1]

when i had alltel as my cell provider the LG phones were crap. its not verizon it your new LG phones

[FrontierDriver28]

Hi pkennedy,
I was a former Alltel customer in North Carolina near Raleigh. I have an Alltel Blackberry and having the same problems that you describe. It's truly awful. Even with an old Alltel phone rather than a newer Verizon phone, It's bad on both ends. I have many dropped calls and my internet service often doesn't work. All of my friends with Alltel/Verizon are having the same issues right now. I know someone who works in a Verizon store and they confirm they're hearing complaint after complaint about these issues. I'm canceling my Verizon service when my contract is up in two months. I cannot take this and pay over $100 per month for service that doesn't work! Alltel was wonderful, Verizon is HORRIBLE.

[DetectiveBooby]

Alltel is now owned by Verizon....so that's good!

[azadam24]

cnetter99: Perhaps you should stay with your wireline carrier - did you know if you read the fine print in the terms of service agreements that all carriers provide you with it states that you can be disconnected at any time for any reason (including being a "short bus whiner"). In fact, at one time Sprint disconnected thousands of customers at one time for just this reason: calling in to moan about their coverage issues. Guess what? GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, WE DON'T WANT YOUR BUSINESS! I took great pleasure over my many years in disconecting customers for this very reason - if you aren't satisfied with a product or service then WHY STAY WITH IT? The very definition of insanity is repeating the same action over and over and expecting a different result. CHANGE CARRIERS INSTEAD OF WHINING!!! I also had the great pleasure of cashing out of the whiny-wireless business with a gigantic check from Qualcomm which allowed me to both retire before the age of thirty, and then show a photocopy of my check to the last whiny customer I ever dealt with as I screamed expletives at him and walked out the door, never to return. I do find it ever-so-amusing though to see people continue to view wireless as Ma Bell, a perception that I'm guessing will never end given the cumulative low IQ's in this society. With any luck, the circle of churn for the carriers will never end, and I'll be reading about it while sipping a drink on the beach. Oh, and guess what, given that my laptop connects WIRELESSLY - one thing I WON'T be doing is whining when my connection goes down since I know it is a WIRELESS connection. Enjoy your day!

[Blackberryluvr]

Well; I DON'T have the Iphone. I did two years ago & the signal was crap. But I bought a Blackberry Curve & I'm still with AT&T. The difference is I now have signal almost everywhere. Nothing wrong with AT&T. Just the Iphone. I do have some friends that are with Alltel; but since Verizon bought them out, now they are having problems with reception & customer service. So they are switching to AT&T. And everyone thought Verizon was going to be the best when they bought Alltel. Not quite. lol
They do have one thing that AT&T doesn't have though. And that would be JD & Associates in their back pocket.

[bgardner11]

You guys say that it varies by where live which is somewhat true. However, this shows that Verizon has the best overall network quality. I've been a Verizon customer for a while now, and have never been dissappointed by my reception, except for in a few buildings, and even then I get a bar at the least. Plus, I live in the Northwest, that wasn't listed as one of the areas with great results. Verizon Wireless is a pretty safe bet.

[osbaldoh90]

Verizon gives me no problem what so ever. Even if I go up to Mount Rainier, I get signal all over the mountain except some minor road areas but no other such problems. I always have my text messages delivered on time. I live in Washington and for me Verizon has been a great cell phone provider for phone calls, text and media messages and even web access. No complaints, no reason to switch over to another provider.

Can you hear me now? Yes I ca

[jgvillan]

I don't care what anyone says. I'm sticking with AT&T. Thank you and good night.

=)

[nikecar]

Likewise with Verizon... Don't need an iPhone, don't care for one. Don't need $$$ data plans.. I want a phone that works, reliably... Thank you Verizon Wireless...

Now Verizon the FiOS company portion is entirely different.. arrrrr

[viper396]

You cared enough to post so obviously you're a hypocrite.