Troy, Mich.—In a period when residential internet customers have had to rely heavily on their internet service provider to stay connected for work, school and entertainment, the newest J.D. Power rankings of customer satisfaction for internet providers found that two-thirds (66%) of customer satisfaction is driven by the quality and speed of their internet connection.
“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.”
The J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study, found that Verizon ranked highest in the East region with a score of 758 (on a 1,000-point scale), followed by Comcast’s Xfinity (725).
AT&T ranked highest in the North Central region with a score of 732, followed by WOW! (730) and Xfinity (716).
AT&T ranked 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).
More detailed rankings can be found in the graphics below.
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.
