From Verizon Wireless tops AT&T in iPhone 4 survey

One thing that was predictable about Verizon Wireless getting an iPhone was that people would be quick to want to compare the iPhone experience on Verizon that of AT&T. ChangeWave Research did just that in their survey of 4,068 consumers, completed on March 28th, which included customer satisfaction, dropped call rates and which carrier future iPhone 4 buyers would choose when in the market for Apple’s latest smartphone.
When it came to customer satisfaction, 82% of those surveyed said they were very satisfied with Verizon Wireless compared to AT&T whose numbers were only slightly lower at 80%. As ChangeWave points out, customer satisfaction may change for Verizon Wireless customers as more iPhone owners join their network which may cause stress on their current infrastructure and lead to decreased customer satisfaction. Considering the bad press around dropped calls for AT&T, it was a bit surprising to see the carrier in a virtual neck-and-neck race with Verizon Wireless in regards to satisfaction. Unfortunately, when looking at the actual numbers around dropped calls for AT&T it seems some of the bad press may have been justified.

As of March, participants in the survey reported a dropped call rate over the past 90 days of 1.8% with the Verizon iPhone 4 compared to the AT&T iPhone 4 which came in at 4.8%. Back in September 2008, the overall dropped call percentages were much closer between the carriers, but since that time overall dropped call rates for AT&T steadily increased while Verizon’s were at a record low in March at 1.4% compared to AT&T’s at 4.6%.
AT&T currently is on the right path to improve its dropped called rate considering that 4.6% is an improvement from the 4.7% reported in December 2010 and the 6% reported in September 2010. Though improving, AT&T’s rate was still significantly higher than the reported dropped call rates of T-Mobile and Sprint which were at 2.3% and 2.7% respectively.

In measuring which wireless service provider future iPhone 4 buyers would use, Verizon Wireless was a clear winner at 46% compared to 27% for AT&T. Like a election though, AT&T apparently still has the potential to swing some undecided customers its ways considering 27% didn’t know or was choosing another carrier.

source : http://www.geek.com