AT&T emerged as the cell phone carrier with the lowest scoring customer satisfaction in the nation, according to a survey released Tuesday by Consumer Reports.
The magazine surveyed more than 58,000 ConsumerReports.org readers, and AT&T ranked in last place. Among all rated carriers in the survey, AT&T also dropped "significantly."
The iPhone also got negative ratings, which AT&T is the sole service provider. More than half of respondents to the survey who have AT&T as a carrier own some type of iPhone. Consumer Reports said its data revealed that iPhone owners are "much less satisfied with their carrier." They also rated data service—such as Web and e-mail—lower than other smartphone users on other carriers.
Verizon, in past, was ranked as being the top service provider, and the report found that the company might have another advantage.
“Our survey suggests that an iPhone from Verizon Wireless, which is rumored, could indeed be good news for iPhone fans,” said Paul Reynolds, Electronics editor for Consumer Reports on the publication's blog.
But this year, Sprint was grouped alongside Verizon for overall satisfaction. Consumer Reports has ranked Verizon as top service provider almost every year since 2003. In some cases, Sprint scored better than Verizon in customer service, which Consumer Reports calls "a remarkable turnaround."
The top rated regional carrier was U.S. Cellular, which only has service in 26 states.
The survey is part of the magazine's annual comprehensive cell phone package, which was on newsstands on Tuesday. The issue is part of the January issue of Consumer Reports.
The full results will be posted online Consumer Reports online on Wednesday morning.
