Kagan: Who is the best at wireless?

Wireless carriers and handset makers spend fortunes on advertising, marketing and public relations to stay on top of the customers’ minds. While that is an important cost of doing business, as a wireless analyst, the most often asked question I get from users is simple: what carrier and handset should they choose? Who will they be happiest with? The question is easy, but the answer is more complicated.

What I have found is that many carriers and handset makers are doing a better job than others they compete with. This translates into more sales and a better reputation. Some companies should do a better job at influencing the messaging about them and their products and services.

Wireless carrier choices

There are many carriers to choose from and the list keeps growing. Companies like AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile US, U.S. Celluar, C-Spire Wireless, Tracfone and others, plus newcomers like Google Project Fi.

With all that choice, finding the right wireless carrier for you is actually not that difficult. There are different factors you need to weigh. Remember the most important factor is connectivity and signal strength where you spend time.

The reason is simple … if you have no signal, then you have no service. Period. With that said, the largest carriers may have the biggest network, most connections and most customers, but they may not be right for everyone. You have to find the best carrier for you.

After signal strength, if you are a heavy wireless data or app user, and if speed matters, different carriers offer different speeds in different locations. You may get LTE in one location and 2G in another. So make sure you get what you need where you spend time. Otherwise you may not be happy.

Carriers offer a variety of different plans, which can limit your speeds to save money. So make sure you get the connectivity and the speed you want for the right price.

Best and top ranked wireless carriers

I have scoured the Web and reviewed quite a few reports for quality and speed and will now discuss what I found.

Generally speaking, AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless are the largest wireless carriers. They offer the most wireless connectivity points. Most of their customers consider them the best.

These carriers have the most customers, which says quite a bit for their reliability, speed and connectivity in most places nationwide. However, it’s important to remember that one carrier may be stronger for you so check your signal strength and speed where you spend time.

Sprint and T-Mobile US have struggled over the last decade, but both are back on track and showing growth. Customers who use them and who have experienced problems yesterday are singing a different tune today. They say how both carriers are improving and the price is often lower than AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless.

The next question is will the growth from Sprint and T-Mobile US come from larger or smaller competitors? Looking at the performance of carriers today, I would say it appears smaller carriers seem to be taking a pounding.

That means smaller wireless carriers like U.S. Cellular, C-Spire Wireless and mobile virtual network operators like Tracfone seem to be impacted by this changing competitive environment right now. There have been stories about how AT&T’s move into Mexico is impacting Tracfone. And stories of Google Project Fi and other industry changes that are starting to impact smaller carriers at this time.

Carriers must sharpen their sword

With this kind of pressure growing, carriers must sharpen their sword. The fight is only going to intensify in coming years.

Today the top ranked carriers are AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile US and even AT&T Mobility’s Cricket Wireless prepaid division. These companies are very close to each other in rankings.

As strong as these players are today, there seems to be a growing distance between these top carriers and the others. Remember, for the user the difference between these companies will be the quality of connection. Even though, generally speaking, these are all strong competitors, each does have it’s own strengths and weaknesses in different areas.

That means two different customers using the same carrier in the same city may have two different experiences. So find the best carrier for you.

Wireless spectrum strength may also start to impact the quality and speeds of carriers as the shortage continues.

As a private company, C-Spire does not make their performance numbers public like the larger competitors do. Even though C-Spire has done well in the past, if other smaller carriers are being impacted by the changing industry I can assume this is also having an impact on them as well. Especially since they don’t have the kind of wireless spectrum available to encourage smartphone speed and growth.

Handset choices

The choice of handsets should be easy. All you have to do is find the best handset for you. However everyone is different and there are quite a few choices to sort through. Some love the Apple iPhone while others prefer the Google Android operating system. There are differences between operating systems and the choice is always up to the user preferences.

There are so many brand names to consider including Samsung Galaxy, Microsoft Nokia, BlackBerry, HTC, Motorola, Xiaomi and many others. Plus more are jumping into this marketplace all the time like the rebirth of the stand-alone Nokia smartphone brand.

Many different handset makers use the Google Android operating system. They may look similar, but they act very differently. So spend time, talk with others about what they like and don’t like about their handset maker. Then take your best shot and choose the right handset for you and your needs.

Don’t be surprised if you change handsets after using them for a while during your search for the best operating system for you. However once you find a favorite you will likely stick with them with each upgrade cycle.

Conclusion

So as you can see the wireless industry is going through enormous change. Spectrum shortage will play an increasingly important role going forward. Every carrier needs more spectrum and, in order to provide good service to their customers, they all need more. However spectrum shortage will continue for years to come.

That could play an important role on whether smaller carriers can continue to compete in the smartphone space or whether they will be more limited to simply voice and text players. Yet larger players need spectrum as much as smaller players. There is no fair solution to date.

The many players in today’s wireless industry have several challenges, however they have been growing strong for years and I don’t see that changing. Expect continued growth and change in the wireless marketplace.

When choosing the best wireless network and handset for you, just make sure you don’t simply believe the best advertising slogan and put the network and handset to the test where you spend time. That’s the best advice you will get on the topic.

Also keep your eyes open for sweeping industry changes that always seem to occur every few years. Now is the time for the next wave of change.