In 2022, when inflation is near 40-year highs, consumers who are selecting an internet service say price is more important than ever.
The J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study found that the monthly cost of service now trumps performance and reliability, although all continue to be strong factors.
“More than half – 58% – of a customer’s satisfaction is driven by the quality and consistency of the internet connection, and how the customer perceives the value of that connection,” said Ian Greenblatt, managing director at J.D. Power. “With customers being least satisfied with cost of service, a consistent experience at a reasonable price is table stakes for providers. Each outage or other problem causes a customer to review that price-driven choice for real value.”
The major internet service providers (ISP) ranking highest with consumers include Verizon, Midco, AT&T, Centurylink, and Xfinity. Verizon ranks highest in the East region for the 10th consecutive year with a score of 758, the only provider besting the regional average of 707. Xfinity was second with a score of 706.
‘It just works’
“I quit Optimum Internet and went back to Verizon for my home wifi,” Naresh, of Madison, N.J., wrote in a ConsumerAffairs review. “The reason was very simple, they offered a much better price ($75 vs. $125), and the service is a workhorse, it just works.”
AT&T made a strong showing throughout the rest of the U.S. It was second to Midco in the North Central Region and ranked highest in the South region for the fifth straight year.
“This is a very concise and well-done internet experience,” Chace, an AT&T customer in Hinton, Tex., told us. “The other internets were expensive and failed miserably all the time! I have never had a failure or problem with this internet experience and I am very pleased with the service.”
AT&T also ranked highest in the West region with a score of 729, followed by Xfinity.
ConsumerAffairs reviewers not that high on Verizon
Consumers posting ISP reviews at ConsumerAffairs don’t view Verizon as the best, actually ranking it dead last with an overall 1-star rating. Reviewers tend to downgrade Verizon over customer service issues.
AT&T secured the top spot among our reviewers with an overall 4-star rating. Xfinity and CenturyLink tied with a 3.9-star rating while Optimum scored 3.7 stars.