Higher uses of Wi-Fi calling improves user perception of wireless network performance
A recent J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Wireless Network Quality Performance Study found that higher uses of Wi-Fi calling improves user perception of wireless network performance. According to the study, the 42% of wireless customers that are using Wi-Fi calling indicated higher levels of satisfaction with their wireless network quality than those who are not using Wi-Fi calling.
The study, based on responses from 32,497 wireless customers, examined perceived carrier performance in six regions: Mid-Atlantic, North Central, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and West, and was conducted from January through June 2020.
“Wi-Fi calling is the offloading of a weak cellular connection to a Wi-Fi based data network in nearly all cases not owned or operated by the wireless carrier,” said Ian Greenblatt, managing director at J.D. Power. “Safer-at-home has meant a significant increase in these largely invisible handoffs, and consumers have perceived a higher quality of call and connection as a result. Ensuring a flawless handoff and high quality of service of that traffic back to the carrier’s network is critical to maintaining the lift in satisfaction enjoyed by Wi-Fi callers.”
When it comes to the carrier performance, Verizon Wireless ranks highest in five of the six regions covered in the study, achieving the fewest network quality problems per 100 connections (PP100) in call quality, messaging quality and data quality in the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and West regions.
In the North Central region, specifically, the top spot when to U.S. Cellular with a score of 6 PP100, achieving the fewest network quality problems in messaging quality and data quality in the North Central region.
Sprint and AT&T struggled the most overall, with the two carriers reporting the problems in each region, except in the Southwest, where Sprint managed to rank in second with only 9 PP100.
View graphs of the results here.
