News / Research
Cable phone services lead parts of a 2006 satisfaction survey
A 2006 J.D. Power & Associates survey found cable television providers offering phone service ranked highest in customer satisfaction in five of six US regions.
What the survey measured
The study covered 12,196 customers who bought local and long-distance telephone service from one provider. It evaluated reliability, billing, customer service and promotions. Cox Communications led the Northeast, West and Southwest; Verizon led the Mid-Atlantic, Time Warner the North Central region and Bright House Networks the Southeast.
The survey did not include Vonage or other independent VoIP providers in its regional rankings because their customer bases were too geographically dispersed for the method used. Respondents reported lower average monthly bills from cable-phone providers than from traditional telephone companies, even as overall satisfaction declined. Those findings are bounded by the study’s sample, categories and regional design.