Consumer Reports, the influential product review publication, says AT&T Inc. is again the country's worst-rated mobile service provider, a blow to the carrier's effort to rehabilitate its network and reputation.
The conclusion, based on a survey of 58,000 readers, shows subscribers continue to hold AT&T's service in low regard even after the carrier boosted its wireless spending by $2 billion this year in an effort to correct what it has acknowledged were weaknesses in its network.
The results bode poorly for AT&T as it faces possible competition for Apple Inc.'s iPhone, a phone it carries exclusively now and relies on for much of its subscriber growth. In fact, Consumer Reports found "iPhone owners were, by far, the least satisfied with their carrier."
"We take this seriously, and we continually look for new ways to improve the customer experience," AT&T said in an emailed statement. The carrier pointed to its success attracting customers and claimed its dropped-call rate is only slightly worse than the best in the industry.
One company to come out well from the survey was Sprint Nextel Corp. Its overall satisfaction rating pulled nearly even with Verizon Wireless's, an indication the company's effort to improve service and build up its device lineup is getting through to customers.
Write to Andrew Dowell at andrew.dowell@dowjones.com
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