Need and Importance of Reliable Internet Has Never Been So Critical as Speed and Consistency Drive Customer Satisfaction, J.D. Power Finds

Verizon, AT&T and Midcontinent Rank Highest in Respective Regions

As so many residential internet customers have needed to rely more heavily on their internet service provider to stay connected for work, school and entertainment, two-thirds (66%) of customer satisfaction is driven by the quality and speed of their internet connection and how the customer perceives the value of that connection, according to the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study,^SM released today.

“The internet essentially became as or more important than other home utilities when the world nearly came to a halt in early 2020, and its importance has remained as businesses and schools have adjusted to new working environments,” said Ian Greenblatt, managing director at J.D. Power. “While overall satisfaction had been increasing since 2018, it has declined since last year, showing that as the necessity of internet service has increased, so have the expectations of customers.”

Study Rankings

Verizon ranks highest in the East region with a score of 758 (on a 1,000-point scale), followed by Xfinity (725).

AT&T ranks highest in the North Central region with a score of 732, followed by WOW! (730) and Xfinity (716).

AT&T ranks highest in the South region with a score of 753, followed by Xfinity (740).

Midcontinent ranks highest in the West region with a score of 754, followed by AT&T (728) and Xfinity (723).

See the rank charts for each region at: http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2021118.

The 2021 U.S. Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study is based on responses from 27,181 customers that currently have internet service with a provider included in the study. The study measures overall satisfaction with internet service providers based on five factors: performance and reliability; cost of service; communications and promotions; billing and payment; and customer service. The study was fielded from October 2020 through July 2021.

For more information about the U.S. Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/tmt/us-residential-television-customer-satisfaction-study

About J.D. Power

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. A pioneer in the use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic modeling capabilities to understand consumer behavior, J.D. Power has been delivering incisive industry intelligence on customer interactions with brands and products for more than 50 years. The world's leading businesses across major industries rely on J.D. Power to guide their customer-facing strategies.

J.D. Power is headquartered in Troy, Mich., and has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more about the company’s business offerings, visit JDPower.com/business. The J.D. Power auto shopping tool can be found at JDPower.com.

About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules: www.jdpower.com/business/about-us/press-release-info

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210923005281/en/