Once lightly regarded as a true competitor for its larger nationwide competition due to its relatively small customer base, not-quite nationwide footprint and questionable network quality, T-Mobile USA Inc. has managed to stake its claim as one of the segment’s leading operators in the past year. That claim has come on the back of tremendous customer growth as well as a recent string of independent accolades from high-profile customer satisfaction surveys.
The latest honor came last week as T-Mobile USA was named the top carrier in all six regions in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2004 U.S. Wireless Regional Customer Satisfaction Index Study. The survey measured customer satisfaction based on 42 specific service-related measures grouped into six segments that J.D. Power said impact overall wireless carrier performance: call performance and reliability, customer service, service plan options, brand image, cost of service and billing.
“T-Mobile performs particularly well in the study, ranking highest in all six regions-including four ties, largely by demonstrating a competitive advantage in customer service, service plan options, cost of service and billing,” J.D. Power noted.
Verizon Wireless tied for the top spot in four regions, including the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, North Central and West, while Nextel Communications Inc. managed a tie for first in the North Central region.
The survey also found that overall customer satisfaction with wireless service providers has increased 5 percent since last year, which J.D. Power noted was the first time a significant increase has been achieved in three years. In addition, the survey reported that wireless household penetration has increased 5.4 percent since last year to 59 percent, with the Northeast region reporting the highest penetration at 62 percent and the North Central region the least-penetrated at 57 percent.
“It’s encouraging to see that industrywide network improvements, especially in expanded coverage and aggressive service plan options that have lowered the average reported per-minute cost to 14 cents, have resulted in a more positive overall wireless service experience,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power.
T-Mobile USA linked the strong performance in the survey to its “ongoing commitment to provide customers with superior service and value for their money.”
“Customer satisfaction is T-Mobile’s highest priority and is reflected in our employees’ daily commitment to service, in every customer interaction and with every customer service experience,” said Robert Dotson, T-Mobile USA president and chief executive officer, in a press release touting its finish.
T-Mobile USA garnered kudos last month from J.D. Power as part of its 2004 Wireless Call Quality Performance Study, posting high scores in two of the six regions and scoring at or better than the industry average in the remaining four regions. The carrier also was named the top carrier by J.D. Power in its 2004 Wireless Customer Care Performance Study released in early July.
Carriers have expressed mixed feelings toward network-performance ratings, noting a number of factors can influence such studies. Instead, carriers like to point to their own internal testing, which in most cases bolsters their own network quality claims.
Most surprising for T-Mobile USA is that the carrier has managed to improve its customer satisfaction ratings while at the same time dramatically growing its customer base.
The carrier has added nearly 8.4 million subscribers since the beginning of 2002, which is second only to Verizon Wireless’ nearly 11 million net additions, and moving past Nextel as the nation’s fifth-largest operator. Analysts predict T-Mobile USA likely will surpass Sprint PCS as the fourth-largest carrier sometime early next year, which likely would default to the third-largest carrier following pending consolidation between No. 2 Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and No. 3 AT&T Wireless Services Inc.
Commenting on the changing perception of wireless carriers following the implementation of wireless local number portability late last year, Roger Entner, Yankee Group program manager of wireless and mobile services, noted both T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless were set to capitalize on shifting consumer destinations with the former carrier seen as the best value while the latter viewed as offering the highest-quality service.
