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J.D. Power: Dial-Up Lives, Broadband Satisfaction Drops
Average broadband customer paying $44.09, Earthlink performs well...

J.D. Power and Associates have released their latest report on the broadband sector, and the results might surprise you. According to the firm, which breaks down satisfaction into four geographical regions, Earthlink ranks highest in customer satisfaction in both their East and South market study regions.

Though they're losing narrowband subscribers to the tune of a million per quarter, Earthlink is also ranked the top dial-up provider. The Earthlink results are surprising in part because we've seen an uptick in user complaints as the company this year outsourced much of their remaining technical support operations overseas.

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Meanwhile, Qwest ranks highest in the survey's West Region, while Verizon takes top honors in the North central region. J.D. Power's director of telecommunications Frank Perazzini tells us Verizon's rankings do include both Verizon DSL and Verizon FiOS service. Comcast, meanwhile, did poorly, showing up last or next to last in all four regions.

The study also offers up some interesting insight into user preferences and loyalty. According to the company, just 42% of broadband customers are loyal to their ISP, compared to a 51% loyalty rate among dial-up subscribers. That difference is due to the fact that dial-up ISPs actually tracked a higher satisfaction rate among dial-up subscribers.

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That's right, dial-up isn't dead yet. "Although high-speed subscriptions continue to increase annually. . . more than one-third of Internet service subscribers still use a dial-up service," says Perazzini. The company also notes that despite the slow speed, narrowband users use the Internet just as much as broadband customers, with 17% of both userbases spending more than 30 hours per week online.

"The cost of high-speed Internet is up nearly $2 per month since 2006, averaging $44.09 in 2007, yet dial-up service costs have dipped $0.12, averaging $17.81. As long as high- speed Internet prices continue to rise and dial-up providers offer a viable level of service at a low price point, significant market opportunity will continue to exist for dial-up service," he says.

The company notes that the average broadband satisfaction score dropped 13 points since 2006 to 680 in 2007. ISPs were ranked across a number of criteria, including performance and reliability, cost of service, image, e-mail services and offerings and promotions (the full report is here in pdf format).
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

DSL statisfaction (in general) higher than cable?

This tends to show that in general, cable (particularly Comcast) is rated lower than DSL in customer satisfaction.
In the 4 regions, most DSL providers rates above average, while most cable rates below average (Cablevision/Cox being the main exceptions).

swintec
Premium Member
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME

swintec

Premium Member

Re: DSL statisfaction (in general) higher than cable?

I wonder though, when polling the people in this study, if a bad experience for those people with say cable TV would equate them with rating low for the broadband data. Cable Cos. have as many as 3-4 different services that can affect consumer satisfaction, and although they may say "Rate only your experience with the internet connection", it would be hard for some to block all the other services out.
bikebum
join:2007-08-08
Spring, TX

bikebum

Member

Re: DSL statisfaction (in general) higher than cable?

Considering I had been a 6 year user of cable broadband and recently switched to DSL, I'd believe this trend. I am suprised at the dial-up numbers though.

Camelot One
MVM
join:2001-11-21
Bloomington, IN

Camelot One to swintec

MVM

to swintec
I run a computer company in Austin, and based on mine (and my tech's) experiences, AT&T definitely wins the customer service rank over Time Warner, in regard to internet service. When TW works, it works. But when there is a problem, atleast in this particular market, they almost always blame it on everything under the sun, except their line/modem. And in almost all of the cases we've had to send someone out, the issue has been with the line or modem. Nothing frustrates an end user more than "try this, if it doesn't work call us back" (and wait on hold forever)

AT&T on the other hand has been decent (not great) about actually troubleshooting their line/equipment first, before blaming it on user/computer/user equipment error. They have also shown a decent effort to get the issue resolved, or to atleast take some action on their part, with just a single call. Now naturally the problem isn't always fixed on the first try, but they do atleast try, rather than just telling the user to run a spyware scan and call them back if their PC still can't get an IP from the modem.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

Re: DSL statisfaction (in general) higher than cable?

I've been through both Cable and DSL... and experiences vary.

Cogeco: Initial install was botched, and spent MANY hours on hold attempting to get through.. only to find they didn't have a bi-directional amp installed. . 2Mbps/256kbps

TimeWarner: Self install worked fine - free installation, free equipment, free 2 months of service Only issue I had was basic channels were analog, and a bad splitter in the condo (installed backwards ) 2Mbps/384kbps

Comcast: Wanted installation fees, rental fees, basic costs were higher, CS was low (i.e. website allowed for basic cable, however CS only allowed for +$50 cable with $45 HSI. Analog lower channels were poor quality - service switched to DTV. No voice service available.

DSL (AT&T): Cheap(er) Internet, free setup kit/install/filters and modem (they didn't want it back either). It worked... had to get rid of the spam/spyware apps (GATOR/GAIN). 1.5Mbps/128kbps

DSL (DSLEXTREME): 3.0Mbps/512kbps service for 1.5Mbps AT&T renew price... worked well. Too far from the CO for stable service. Tech support has been VERY responsive. I disliked their use of DNS search service... I'm glad its gone.
bogey7806
join:2004-03-19
Here

bogey7806 to en102

Member

to en102
I can't wait for Rick's response to this. I'm sure he can't wait to write an essay excoriating Comcast for their bad rating.

David
Premium Member
join:2002-05-30
Granite City, IL

David

Premium Member

Re: DSL statisfaction (in general) higher than cable?

said by bogey7806:

I can't wait for Rick's response to this. I'm sure he can't wait to write an essay excoriating Comcast for their bad rating.
Aaaaaah he would just figure out some way to bash at&t.

Although I am kind of surprised we are above the average in the DSL dept in all areas. Though below average in the dial up dept. I think the dial up might be the price more than anything.
plat2on1
join:2002-08-21
Hopewell Junction, NY

plat2on1

Member

once again

comecast bringing up the rear
strange_69
join:2001-08-07
Ridgecrest, CA

strange_69

Member

Re: once again

said by plat2on1:

comecast bringing up the rear
Not out West. Yippy, Mediacom beats Comcast. Way to go Mediacom. For those who don't have a choice Mediacom is your choice

Fubar16
join:2001-02-20
Phoenix, AZ

Fubar16

Member

Qwest #1 in the west....

It can't be.....

Now I don't know what to say about this story....
Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA

1 edit

Sammer

Member

Re: Qwest #1 in the west....

That Qwest employee Jay Dee Powers must of got a really nice Christmas bonus!

C0deZer0
Oc'D To Rhythm And Police
Premium Member
join:2001-10-03
Tempe, AZ

1 recommendation

C0deZer0

Premium Member

J.D. Power is BS

They don't even take any data from the people that actually buy and use the products that they're rating from... rather only take it from (very filtered) corporate data that these companies send.

Of course they all want to make themselves look good.

When I first found out about that, I was completely dismayed about the whole thing... Considering they're just another marketing company, why should we believe anything they say?

ninjatutle
Premium
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA

1 edit

ninjatutle

Member

Re: J.D. Power is BS

Umm hello, the average user isnt a broadband geek with servers and biohazard stickers. They conduct these surveys out in the streets, malls, etc. Places were the pale peeps here haven't been to in ages.

C0deZer0
Oc'D To Rhythm And Police
Premium Member
join:2001-10-03
Tempe, AZ

C0deZer0

Premium Member

Re: J.D. Power is BS

said by ninjatutle:

Umm hello, the average user isnt a broadband geek with servers and biohazard stickers. They conduct these surveys out in the streets, malls, etc. Places were the pale peeps here haven't been to in ages.
Pretty much, the people most clueless about the quality of service that these companies are providing.

If anything, they should be talking to the people that have had to go through the full gamut of what the company has to offer and their customer services before they can have anything that is remotely accurate to what is experienced in truth.

Nut
@qwest.net

Nut to ninjatutle

Anon

to ninjatutle
You have to look pretty deep into the bottom of the barrell to belive JD Powers is a nock off company that doesn't know what the hell they are doing, if that were the case nobody would pay attention to them, and we wouldn't even be talking about those results. I had Cable internet, then I got 256 K DSL Broadband from Qwest, the difference was minimal... Except ----> I didn't have slow peak times anymore like I did with cable like 5 pm when everyone got home. For 4 yrs now my DSL has worked awesome, I pay less than I did with Cable, and now my internet doesn't go down every other month or so. I love Qwest Broadband DSL and you guys that refuse to try it, are traditional people, like those that hang onto the wagons and refuse to grasp the cars and vehicles that lead us into the future.
daaane
join:2007-01-25
Auburn, WA

daaane to C0deZer0

Member

to C0deZer0
yeah you're right C0de, if they took it from people who used the products, comcast would be much, much lower =|

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102 to C0deZer0

Premium Member

to C0deZer0
J.D. Power is the same company that continues to claim that vehicles made by Ford, Chrysler and GM are top quality, when we all know better. I would take anything they write with a grain of salt.
deadzoned
Premium Member
join:2005-04-13
Cypress, TX

deadzoned

Premium Member

Cox

Makes me glad that I have Cox for my broadband service. I really can't say I have had any problems with them. Many others that you talk to that have Cox will agree from what I can tell too.

It's been my experience that DSL is cheaper than Cable so maybe that's part of the reason why DSL is rated higher. Cheaper equates to Better with a lot of consumers.

The Dial-Up part is pretty surprising though I must admit.

verizonnotfanboy
@optonline.net

verizonnotfanboy

Anon

Re: Cox

that's right boy...Cablevision OWNED Verizon AGAIN.

Happy DSLExtreme

Anon

Earthlink with highest satifaction rate - No F..ing way...

I had Earthlink for 8 years before I dropped them this May... their customer service is very kind and nice and most importantly... DISHONEST & WORTHLESS...

Those outsourced tech support or customer support can only read the script. I have gone all the way to their Level 3 Master Technician and after three of them I figured they are just as dumb as the level 1 technician. After they fail to solve my problem, they all told me that they would talk to the phone company and call me back... you guess it, no call back whatsoever.

I switched to DSLExtreme and got my problem solved right away. They actually called back after phone company technician fixed problem as they told me they would. NICE.

Cabal
Premium Member
join:2007-01-21

Cabal

Premium Member

One thing to keep in mind

The people who answer JD Power mailings are people who think it's worth 30 minutes of their time to check off boxes in a 20-page flyer in exchange for the crisp $1 bill they include in the envelope.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
Netgear WNDR3700v2
Zoom 5341J

KrK

Premium Member

Re: One thing to keep in mind

said by Cabal:

The people who answer JD Power mailings are people who think it's worth 30 minutes of their time to check off boxes in a 20-page flyer in exchange for the crisp $1 bill they include in the envelope.
!! They give people a dollar!

All I got was a coupon for a free Drink upgrade at McDonalds!

disturbed1
Premium Member
join:2003-09-06
Columbus, OH

disturbed1

Premium Member

Most Cable ISPs stink anyways

I've dealt with quite a few ISPs over the years.

Road Runner - when it worked it was great. Too often it didn't work. The CSRs were untrained, the service techs were bad mannered. The last straw was when the 4th service tech came out admitted the problem was with the box outside. I stated I was tempted to cancel all services, he said something smart, so I had all services pulled, and spread bad PR to all of my friends/family. It worked on 60% of them.

Cox - horrible, horrible company. I had their broad band out west (AZ). Like RR, when it worked it worked well. CSR/TSRs untrained imbeciles. I also used to work as a Cox TSR in a call center. Bad company is all I can say about that Though, that was 2 years ago, a lot could (hopefully ) have changed since then. Most of the level 1 techs got their job because they could spell mouse. Not much more was needed!!!

Qwest - Great service, great CSRs. Never an issue.

Embarq - Great service, great CSRs. Never an issue.

WOW - Fantastic!!!!! Hardly ever an issue, besides IMO low quality VOIP, The VOIP quality has gone up recently, or I've gotten used to it.