Consumer Reports: AT&T Is The Weakest Link

But no one's saying "goodbye"

Dec 6 2011, 2:27pm CST | by Mark Raby

Consumer Reports: AT&T Is The Weakest Link

Another entry in the annual Consumer Reports list of best and worst mobile carriers in the US has once again placed AT&T at dead last.

And, as should come to no surprise to anyone who is familiar with the yearly report, Verizon ranked at the top among the quantitative and qualitative factors that range from call quality to customer service.

AT&T has become infamous for earning the lowest scores across practically all categories for multiple years. Meanwhile, Verizon has been the reigning leader long enough to cement it as the #1 provider in the US.

Sprint and T-Mobile are of course sandwiched in the middle, with Sprint closing in on Verizon's dominance but still out of reach.

However, it was another group of carriers entirely that represented a largely content segment of the industry. "Our survey indicates that subscribers to prepaid and smaller standard-service providers are happiest overall with their cell-phone service. However, these carriers aren’t for everyone. Some are only regional, and prepaid carriers tend to offer few or no smart phones. The major carriers are still leading options for many consumers, and we found they ranged widely in how well they satisfied their customers," wrote Consumer Reports editor Paul Reynolds.

AT&T has been able to supplement its mobile presence and its revenue by securing contracts for other devices. For example, the Kindle 3G uses AT&T's service, and Sony's upcoming Playstation Vita with built-in 3G will only be supported by AT&T in the US.

It's still anyone's guess as to why AT&T continues to be such a power player in the mobile world, with millions of new customers continuing to pour in every year, even after it lost the precious iPhone exclusivity contract from Apple.

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Mark Raby
Based in New York City, Mark follows the consumer electronics industry like a hawk. A published book author, he has a particular affinity for 3D technology and video games, and as such will surely be in the market for a new pair of glasses soon. Mark can be contacted directly at mark@i4u.com.