VERIZON WIRELESS WINS J.D. POWER CUSTOMER CARE AWARD

J.D. Power and Associates announced on Thursday that Verizon Wireless ranked highest in the company’s 2011 Wireless Customer Care Performance Study, Volume 2. The carrier’s overall score was 770/1000, which was above the average 761 score in the ‘full service’ category. T-Mobile came in second place with a score of 766, followed by Sprint (752) and AT&T (751).

J.D. Power and Associates also noted that non-contract customers have shorter wait times than customers with contracts (5.5 minutes versus 4.4 minutes). “There is also a disparity between the contract and non-contract segments in terms of the quality of the experience with the service representative,” J.D. Power and Associates senior director of wireless services Kirk Parsons said. “In particular, non-contract customers are considerably less satisfied than are contract customers in the areas of knowledge about plans; personal concern for customers; and apathy towards customers.” Boost Mobile ranked the best among non-contract carriers with a score of 763.

USERS KEEPING MOBILE PHONES LONGER

J.D. Power and Associates has released findings from a new study showing Americans are holding on to their mobile phones longer than ever.  Customers are keeping their phones 20.5 months, on average, which is 17% longer than in 2009.  It is the longest time period since the study began back in 1999 when the average amount of time was at 17.3 months.

There are probably a lot of reasons for the increase, but Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power, feels the downturn in the economy has played a principal role.  Also, people are feeling their current phone is just good enough for now.  With 4G/LTE right around the corner, people are holding on to what they have so they won't be caught behind the curve when those technologies emerge in the marketplace. [Engadget]