What happens
The American Customer Satisfaction Index publishes its annual survey of Americans’ satisfaction with their ISPs.
Why it matters
As broadband connectivity becomes more and more integrated into daily work and school habits, few ISPs live up to our expectations. If we start to see increased competition, can that change?
You know you have a perception problem when your industry has a poorer view than the US Postal Service or even gas stations. But alas, it’s there, ISPs are Tuesday with the release of The American Customer Satisfaction Index’s Telecommunications Study for 2021-2022.
Among over 45 different industries surveyed (including such wide-ranging industries as food manufacturing, life insurance, airlines, hotels, hospitals and social media), ISPs came dead last for customer satisfaction with a rating of 64 on a scale from zero to 100. That is two points behind the second lowest industry (subscription TV services of 66) and a loss of 1.5% compared to the previous year’s performance.
ISPs are bringing up the ACSI list of customer satisfaction by industry.
ACSI
Suddenlink suffered the biggest drop, dropping 4% from last year’s figure to a score of 53, placing it firmly at the bottom of the ACSI list, a position it also held in 2021. In April, Suddenlink’s parent company Altice USA announced that it would soon transform the service to Optimum.
Speaking of which Optimal, Altice’s other ISP did not do well either. It was penultimate on the list with a score of 59. Other providers who saw their scores fall year over year include AT&T, CenturyLink and Cox (all down 3%) and Xfinity (down 1%).
Although Xfinity’s score fell from 2021, its 66 rating still exceeded the industry average of 64. Similarly, AT&T achieved a third place with a score of 69, which placed it well above the category average. Yet the decline is surprising given the telecommunications’ commitment to expand its fiber network and reveal its new multi-gig speed plans this year.
There were a few bright spots. A perennial favorite, Verizon Fiosremained on top and got a point and moved up to 72. Kinetic by Windstream climbed 2%, up to a rating of 62. Border communication took the largest positive jump and increased by 7% to achieve a score of 61. Although still below the industry average, it is a significant step up compared to the provider’s previous three years with 55, 55 and 57 respectively.
Another prominent one in the report is newcomer T-Mobile Home Internet, which hit the market in 2021 and debuted at number two on the list with a score of 71. It bodes well for the fixed wireless capability that uses its 5G and 4G LTE networks to connect the home to the Internet and aims to be a disruption of traditional broadband providers (slogan on its side is “Free yourself from internet BS”). If these results are any indication, it and other newcomers may have a chance of success.
