AT&T swept the customer service and buying experience for other J.D. Power surveys, however, Verizon is the big winner for "can you hear me now" as the tops for network quality.
Verizon scored on top in all six U.S. regions measured in the survey. It is the first time a single carrier earned the top number one spot in each region since regional ratings began in 2004.
Overall network performance is based on customer experience of dropped calls; calls not connected; audio issues; failed/late voicemails; lost calls; text transmission failures; late text message notifications; Web connection errors; slow downloads; and email connection errors.
The study found that overall network performance varies widely by carrier and activities. For example, there are fewer reported problems overall among wireless customers who use a full-service provider network, compared with problems reported by customers of non-contract carriers.
U.S. Cellular ranked highest (in a tie this period) in the North Central region for a 16th consecutive reporting period.
AT&T ranked number two in most areas (Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Southwest, and West region) except for the North Central region.
Sprint and T-Mobile tied with two stars in all regions(Mid-Atlantic, North Central, Southwest, and West) except the Southeast where T-Mobile had two stars.
Customers experienced significantly fewer data problems with 4G LTE smartphones (16 PP100) than with 3G phones (18 PP100).
Monthly spending increases by an average of $17 among customers who have switched from a previous carrier to obtain a better network or coverage.