TROY, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Think you should always have great wireless service when you’re in a big city? Think again. Residents of urban areas experienced the highest incidence of overall network quality problems in the J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Wireless Network Quality Performance Study℠—Volume 1, released today. At the other end of the spectrum, residents of rural areas experienced the second-highest volume of network quality problems. The phenomenon sets the stage for the regional challenges ahead as carriers roll out their 5G offerings.
“The network quality problems wireless customers are experiencing in urban, suburban and rural areas each require different solutions, given the unique nature of their environments,” said Ian Greenblatt, managing director at J.D. Power. “Managing customer expectations for speed and reliability will be critical across these different tiers because the user perception of speed on a high-band frequency vs. a low-band frequency will be very different, driving dissimilar experiences. The continued rollout of multitier 5G strategies, delivering shorter-range, high-band frequencies in densely populated urban settings and longer-range, low-band frequencies in rural settings has the power to address these challenges, but only if providers properly set those expectations against the reality of the real-world speeds of 5G.”
Study Results
Verizon Wireless ranks highest in all six regions covered in the study, achieving the lowest network quality problems per 100 connections (PP100) in call quality, messaging quality and data quality in each region.
The 2020 U.S. Wireless Network Quality Performance Study—Volume 1 is based on responses from 33,750 wireless customers. Carrier performance is examined in six regions: Mid-Atlantic, North Central, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and West. In addition to evaluating the network quality experienced by customers with wireless phones, the study also measures the network performance of tablets and mobile broadband devices. The study was fielded from July through December 2019.
For more information about the U.S. Wireless Network Quality Performance Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/resource/jd-power-wireless-network-quality-performance-study.
See the online press release at http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2020004.
J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. These capabilities enable J.D. Power to help its clients drive customer satisfaction, growth and profitability. Established in 1968, J.D. Power has offices serving North America, Asia Pacific and Europe.
