Survey Finds Cell-Phone Satisfaction

Here is some good news about cell-phone service. In case you haven't realized it yourself, service is actually improving, according to this year's survey by Consumer Reports. On the other hand, one of my pet peeves: The hidden costs of discount and "free" phones are now a major concern for buyers.

Cell phones, once the scourge of Consumer Reports' surveys, now receive marks of completely or very satisfied by 60% of respondents.

The Consumer Reports National Research Center surveyed 51,700 readers in 23 cities to determine customer satisfaction with service providers. Tops on the list is Verizon (VZ Quote), home of Research In Motion's(RIMM Quote) new BlackBerry Storm. Verizon received high marks in overall satisfaction and customer service and for service being available in most of the country. Alltel (soon to be acquired by Verizon) also stood out in areas where it was rated.

The other big winner in this survey was T-Mobile (DT Quote). For the first time, it was statistically on par with the top carriers in almost two-thirds of the cities where it was rated. Here in the New York City area, AT&T (T Quote), home of Apple's (AAPL Quote) iPhone 3G and the Blackberry Bold, came in third while Sprint (S Quote), the other major carrier, was not rated in the report at all.

Consumer Reports' readers reported somewhat better contract terms, and this year noted fewer problems with call quality. For the first time, Consumer Reports also rated customer-service satisfaction and found the carriers that stood out in city ratings of reader satisfaction and connectivity also tended to do well in customer service.