(Credit: peshkov/Getty Images)
A new survey of broadband customer satisfaction suggests that Americans don't have a need for speed but do have their money on their mind.
Market-research firm J.D. Power's latest Technology, Media & Telecom Intelligence Report, published Monday, finds that fixed-wireless-access (FWA) broadband (aka 5G home internet) gets higher customer-satisfaction ratings than cable or even fiber-optic broadband.
In urban areas, where cable, fiber, and fixed wireless should be most likely to compete with each other, fixed wireless still had the highest scores in J.D. Power's survey. It got 661 out of 1,000, followed by 645 for 4G FWA, 607 for fiber, 558 for cable, and a surprisingly high 579 for digital subscriber line (DSL), the oldest and slowest wired broadband still around.
(Credit: J.D. Power)Similar patterns prevailed in suburban and rural areas among respondents to the survey.
In suburban markets, 5G again ranked first with 638, followed by fiber at 565, and 4G at 560–with DSL at 524 somehow ahead of cable at 516. And in rural areas, 5G also led with 644, with 4G at 565, fiber at 564, cable at 512, and DSL at 490.
That's not because FWA is faster (cable and especially fiber can deliver much faster downloads in practice), but because it's cheaper.
(Credit: J.D. Power)"Customers are increasingly seeing FWA as better value," wrote Carl Lepper, senior director of the technology, media, and telecommunications intelligence practice at J.D. Power. "At $72, the average monthly cost of wireless internet is nine dollars per month cheaper than the average wired internet plan ($81)."
If speed alone determined customer choices, this survey would look different, because fiber delivers much faster downloads than fixed wireless and offers uploads at about the same speed, something cable and fixed wireless can't do.
For example, the broadband-facts labels Verizon posts for its 5G Home fixed-wireless service at an address in Washington cite downloads of at least 50Mbps and at most 250Mbps with uploads ranging from 37 to 57Mbps.
At an address across the Potomac in Arlington, Va., with Verizon's Fios fiber-optic service available, downloads start at 307.33Mbps and top out at 939.67Mbps, with uploads as fast or slightly faster at various tiers. That is a relatively slow speed limit for fiber; Verizon sells 2Gbps Fios elsewhere, AT&T offers service as fast as 5Gbps, and Google Fiber (aka GFiber) now sells 20Gbps service in some areas.
What about cable? At the same DC address, Comcast's label cites downloads of 400Mbps and uploads of 41Mbps. But where Verizon's wireless and fiber plans start at $50 a month, Comcast's start at $55 a month before increasing to $93 after a five-year rate guarantee.(Comcast's own executives have admitted their pricing is too confusing.)
Lepper's post notes that "70% of FWA customers agree their plan is affordable compared to 53% of wired internet customers"—with T-Mobile's 5G earning the highest customer-value score.
J.D. Power's data, gathered from a survey of 29,932 broadband subscribers conducted from November 2023 through August 2024, lines up fairly well with the American Customer Satisfaction Index's latest survey, which found AT&T Fiber, Google Fiber, and T-Mobile's 5G Home tied for first place with scores of 78 out of 100.
This new survey's results, however, depart somewhat from PCMag's Readers' Choice awards, published last week: Fiber providers topped the chart, led by Google with a score of 9.5 out of 10, and AT&T and Verizon's fiber tied at 8.4. Fixed wireless providers ranked notably below, with T-Mobile's 5G Home doing best at 7.9.
How Is DSL Still Kicking?
J.D. Power's results, however, do stand out for DSL satisfaction metrics in the same neighborhood as those for much faster cable services. Asked about that, Lepper offered a few theories via email.
One possibility is that subscribers mistakenly thought they had DSL. "Remember, this is self-reported, and we do not expect everyone to be able to identify their type of internet," he said. "We ask by using detailed descriptions and pictures to help."
Second is "brand impact"—as in, some cable providers do exceedingly poorly in these surveys and drag down the entire category of providers.
Third is how much money people can spare for broadband, especially now that the Affordable Connectivity Program's subsidies are a memory.
"Lastly, 29% of those who stated they have DSL have an average household income of less than $25k," he said. "The need for high-speed internet isn't as important as having internet."