<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Gigaom]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[http://gigaom.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Kif Leswing]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[http://search.gigaom.com/author/kifleswing1/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[AT&amp;T beats T-Mobile in latest J.D. Power network quality rankings]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/2015-us-wireless-network-quality-performance-study%E2%80%94volume-1">J.D. Power released a report</a> on Thursday looking at which of the big four major U.S. carriers provide cellular service with the fewest lost calls, slow downloads, failed texts and other common issues.</p>
<p>As usual, <a href="http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/2015-us-wireless-network-quality-performance-study%E2%80%94volume-1">the survey says</a> Verizon has the highest mobile network quality. Verizon&#8217;s network had the fewest connection problems among the big four carriers in all six geographical regions that J.D. Power looks at. AT&amp;T came in second place, taking the runner-up spot in all six regions.</p>
<p>Last year, T-Mobile started to take the second-place slot from AT&amp;T in <a href="https://gigaom.com/2014/08/28/t-mobile-starts-climbing-j-d-powers-network-quality-rankings-but-verizon-remains-on-top/">areas such as the Northeast and West</a>. This year, though, AT&amp;T reclaimed it in those regions. One way to explain that: Last summer, when the previous report came out, T-Mobile had been in the process of building <a href="https://gigaom.com/2013/11/05/t-mobile-doubles-its-lte-speeds-capacity-in-at-least-40-major-cities/">a massive network expansion</a>. However, T-Mobile&#8217;s been adding <a href="https://gigaom.com/2015/02/19/t-mobile-shows-a-rare-profit-as-its-growth-spurt-continues/">millions of subscribers</a> since then, and the reduced network quality could be because its network is starting to show signs of saturation.</p>
<p><a href="https://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/screen-shot-2015-03-05-at-12-58-38-pm.png"><img  src="https://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/screen-shot-2015-03-05-at-12-58-38-pm.png?w=786&#038;h=947" alt="JD Power Northeast 2015 Q1" width="786" height="947" data-attribution="J.D. Power" class=" aligncenter" /></a></p>
<p>In the northeast region, for instance, Verizon subscribers can expect to see 11 problems per 100 connections; AT&amp;T subscribers will see 13 problems per 100 connections; and T-Mobile lags behind with 16 problems per 100 connections. <a href="https://gigaom.com/2014/08/28/t-mobile-starts-climbing-j-d-powers-network-quality-rankings-but-verizon-remains-on-top/">Last summer&#8217;s J.D. Power report</a> suggested that T-Mobile only had 12, and AT&amp;T had 14. Verizon stayed steady with 11 problems per 100 mobile interactions.</p>
<p>In the other five regions, the situation is similar. Verizon even improved its mid-Atlantic performance to take the top spot back from AT&amp;T there. Overall, there have been more issues with network quality in the past six months than before. Out of every 100 network connection, across all four carriers, there is a problem with 13 of them. Last year saw an average of 12 issues per 100 connections.</p>
<p>Network quality isn&#8217;t the be-all and end-all for carriers, though. J.D. Power administers surveys <a href="http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/2014-us-wireless-customer-care-full-service-performance-study%E2%80%94volume-2-and-jd-power">looking at customer service</a> as well, and T-Mobile came out on top of that last summer.</p>
<p>Charts for all six regions are available <a href="http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/2015-us-wireless-network-quality-performance-study%E2%80%94volume-1">from J.D. Power</a>.</p>
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