It wasn’t all that long ago that we were simply happy that once-in-awhile we could talk to somebody via a portable box or car phone. Fast forward to 2015 and we have become a very demanding bunch when it comes to our wireless calling – maybe it’s because our smartphones cost so much or the fact that our monthly bills are outrageous. But whatever it is, we will not put up without service, and this is certainly evident from a recent J.D. Power survey done in Canada where they will drop a carrier’s rating as fast as a hot potato. We expect to have service to complete a phone call, send/receive text messages or browse the web and anytime we have a problem with connectivity, it directly impacts our view of network quality. Canada’s government is constantly trying to legislate a better internet as well.
The study J.D. Power conducted looked at three areas: Calling, Messaging and Data. Performance is measured as Problems Per 100 (PP100) connections with a lower number meaning fewer problems and a higher number meaning more problems. They examined three geographical regions in Canada: West, Ontario and East. You must understand that many businesses are either wireless or rely a lot on wireless communications with their employees out in the field, so it is an important issue when calls are dropped or messages are unsent or not received. One the average, customers experienced the highest number of problems with data (14 PP100), which includes slow downloads (15 PP100) and web connection troubles (10 PP100). Followed closely by calls (13 PP100) and finally messaging (5 PP100).
Some key findings indicate that if a customer said they “definitely will not” switch carriers, it is because the carrier got an average of only 5 PP100 network quality issues. Those customers with carriers averaging 17 PP100 said they will “definitely switch” carriers. Wireless phone customers in the West reported an average of 9 PP100, where SaskTel ranked the highest in quality at 8 PP100 and performs well in all three areas. Customers in the Ontario region reported 10 PP100, with Bell Mobility and TELUS Mobility tie for the highest network quality at 9 PP100. Bell was particularly good in Call Quality and Messaging, while TELUS was good across all three services. In the East they reported an average of 8 PP100, with Videotron ranking the best carrier quality across the board with an average rating of 6 PP100. Check out the chart below to see the complete listings and scores…notice one conspicuously absent name from the top carriers – Rogers, who is supposedly working on their customer service.