Consumer Reports Declares AT&T the Worst Network in the Country

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Posted December 6, 2010 at 2:52pm by iClarified

Consumer Reports has issued another analysis of U.S. cellular carriers which declares AT&T the worst network in the country.

The magazine even cover reads, "Plus, Best & worst providers (Sorry, AT&T)".

Nationally, AT&T scored a full black dot (the worst rating) in every survey category except for texting, in which it received a half-black dot. It received a reader score of 60, compared to the high 82 for U.S. Cellular which was followed by 74 for Verizon Wireless. Good thing AT&T has the iPhone locked down for the holidays.

The Houston Chronicle relays AT&T's response.

We take this seriously and we continually look for new ways to improve the customer experience. The fact is wireless customers have choices and a record number of them chose AT&T in the third quarter, significantly more than our competitors. Hard data from independent drive tests confirms AT&T has the nation's fastest mobile broadband network with our nearest competitor 20 percent slower on average nationwide and our largest competitor 60 percent slower on average nationwide. And, our dropped call rate is within 1/10 of a percent - the equivalent of just one call in a thousand - of the industry leader.

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Consumer Reports Declares AT&T the Worst Network in the Country

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ltlredx - December 9, 2010 at 9:21am

AT&T isn't the best but it by far is not the worst. My experience w/ them has been stellar compared to Sprint. I got put of my Sprint contract b4 the first 30 days were up because their Customer Service sucked so bad. Their reps were rude & acted like it was an inconvenience that I even called! Sprint is notorious for this & has even been known to drop a customer who "complains too much", wth kind of customer service is that!? I used to rely on Consumer Reports almost exclusively in making my purchase decisions but I've come to discover that they are frequently off the mark in their ratings. If I were to rate Consumer Reports, they would get an open circle. Not a good rating at all considering they are the grandaddy of rating sources & supposed to be neutral. Just goes to prove that Consumer Reports can have their heads up their @$$ as much as everyone else. I don't even consult them when making a purchase decision any more.

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Stacey - December 9, 2010 at 3:19pm

I agree with you here. I went from Verizon to Sprint/Nextel and Sprint was by far the worst. I cancelled my contract and paid the fees just to be done with them and I will never return. They could not pay me to use their service. I am on AT&T now and it has been the best of the 3 I have tried, including customer service. In all my years Sprint is the worst of any customer service I have ever come across.

John - December 6, 2010 at 8:26pm

At&t is awesome in my area

John - December 6, 2010 at 4:59pm

These 'studies' are so silly. I have had to deal with Customer Service with most of these companies; they all suck. If one is dealing with Technical Support, there are generally two scenarios in play: 1) You have a decent understanding of technology, in which case there is generally little point in calling; you almost certainly know more than the guy/gal that you will be talking to. Every once in a while, though, you will be pleasantly surprised. 2) You don't have an understanding of technology, in which case the guy/gal that you talk to won't be able to help you; you are better off not owning a cell phone. This particular article says the following: AT&T sucks the most; the other companies suck the very tiniest amount less. Is this really something that Verizon (or anyone else) should be crowing about?

Me - December 6, 2010 at 4:06pm

tell me something I don't know

ML - December 6, 2010 at 3:40pm

What?! How did Sprint score higher than anyone for customer service? They are awful. It took over two months for them to port my old phone number over to them when I switched! I called all the time and nobody could figure it out. They would charge me for services my phone was not even capable of using and I never did get any of that refunded. I was literally banging my head on my desk every time I would talk to them. I got out of there ASAP because the customer service was so terrible. Once I was put on hold and the person left! They aren't allowed to hang up on you so since it was near the end of his shift he put me on hold. I put my speaker phone on and did other things while I waited for him to come back. I forgot the phone was even on when over two hours later someone started talking out of my speaker phone. He said that other person had gone home for the day a long time ago and they weren't sure why there was a call on hold at a computer where nobody was working. Now that is some awesome customer service!