JD Power on call quality

In most regions of the US, Verizon has the best cellular call quality, claims JD Power and Associates. Between January and June of 2009, the marketing data firm conducted a survey of 25,512 cellular subscribers, polling them on topics such as interference, dropped calls and voice distortion. Verizon is said to rank first in the northeast, mid-Atlantic, southeast and southwest regions, doing particular well in terms of minimizing drops, failed initial connections and failed or delayed text and voice messages.

In the west Verizon is tied with Alltel and T-Mobile; T-Mobile is said to do better in terms of reducing echoes and distortion, while Alltel is lauded for keeping messages on time. US Cellular is noted as the dominant carrier in the north central region, with a low amount of connection, interference or messaging problems.

Notably absent from top positions are AT&T and Sprint, despite the companies being national-level carriers. Call quality is said to be improving in the industry as a whole however, with drops sliding from five calls out of 100 to four, and initial connection failures slipping from four to three. Likewise, static problems now occur in two out of 100 calls instead of three.

By Electronista Staff