Cell-phone service gets ho-hum marks in CR survey

Dec 4, 2009 8:50 AM

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Americans love their cell phones; after all, 88 percent of us use them. The service to them? Not so loved, according to the new survey of satisfaction with cell-phone service from the Consumer Reports National Research Center.

Despite "smarter phones," more flexible plans, and faster wireless networks, cell service continues to be among the lower-rated services that Consumer Reports evaluates. Here are some highlights from the survey (available to subscribers), which drew from the cell-phone experiences of more than 50,000 readers:

Only 54 percent of respondents were completely or very satisfied with their cell-phone service.

Almost two-thirds of respondents had at least one major complaint.

About one in five readers cited high prices as their top complaint, which is more than any other annoyance.

A fairly small percentage of respondents had prepaid cell-phone plans, which do not require contracts, and they are fairly satisfied with them. However, satisfaction with Web access with provided through contract plans.

When we asked readers, for the first time, about their experiences with text messaging and surfing the Web, there was tepid enthusiasm. Only about a quarter of data-service users rated their Web and e-mail experience as excellent. Key beefs? Web access that's slower than expected and he inability to send or receive e-mail.

Our full report includes comprehensive Ratings of the major wireless carriers and identifies the best carriers for prepaid service. (All three previous links are available to subscribers.)

—Paul Reynolds