iPhone 4 Survey: Verizon Drops Less Calls Than AT&T

ChangeWave Research contacted 4,068 iPhone 4 users to get a detailed comparison of Verizon Wireless vs. AT&T Mobility services. According to the survey results, AT&T customers experienced dropped calls almost three times as often in the past 90 days as those with a Verizon iPhone 4. Whereas Verizon subscribers reported a dropped call rate of 1.8 percent, AT&T clocked in at 4.8 percent for the same question.

You might think these numbers would pose a problem for the AT&T customer service department. Actually, when looking at overall customer satisfaction with their iPhone 4, both companies came out even. Very satisfied and somewhat satisfied customers together made up 98 percent of respondents from both AT&T and Verizon.

Although consumers are satisfied with their iPhone 4s, the dropped call woes for AT&T don't stop there. ChangeWave also performed another study and asked customers with any cellular phone from the four major US carriers about dropped call frequency in the past 90 days. Guess who came in last.

- Verizon Wireless 1.6%
- T-Mobile 2.3%
- Sprint/Nextel 2.7%
- AT&T Mobility 4.6%

A survey of future iPhone 4 buyers paints an interesting picture. Of those planning to purchase an iPhone 4, ChangeWave found that 46 percent planned to buy from Verizon. 27 percent indicated they would go with AT&T and 27 percent were in the "Don't Know/Other" category. On the surface this looks good for Verizon and bad for AT&T, however as more iPhone 4 users sign on to the Verizon network, their service could suffer.

As more subscribers start using loads of data it will inevitably put more pressure on Verizon's systems. Similarly, AT&T could see in improvement in future survey results as some customers will make the switch to Verizon. What's clear is that US consumers are incredibly satisfied with their iPhones and the user experience they provide, regardless of how many calls are dropped.