Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless got the highest ratings in overall satisfaction among the four largest wireless carriers in a survey of business owners released Wednesday by the Yankee Group and Mobile Enterprise magazine. The two carriers also showed the most consistency in categories of satisfaction.
“Among large businesses, these two carriers are neck and neck for both wireless voice and data service relationships, and Verizon holds a slight advantage in the SMB voice space,” wrote Eugene C. Signorini, a vice president of the Boston-based Yankee Group.
Survey respondents gave Sprint an average 7.32 rating on a one-to-10 scale, and 7.22 to Verizon, the nation’s largest wireless carrier. AT&T, the second biggest network, got a 6.90 rating, while T-Mobile was ranked in the middle with 7.19.
The survey found that the big four control 99 percent of “primary carrier voice relationships” among large businesses and 92 percent among small to midsize companies, with Verizon and AT&T the most common for both voice and data. Sprint and T-Mobile came in second and third, respectively, among both large businesses and SMBs for voice and data.
The survey found that most business users are satisfied with their carriers, with only 12 percent of large businesses and 16 percent of SMBs considering switching their voice plan. Only 10 percent of large businesses and 12 percent of SMBs said they were considering switching data plans.
The data was collected in November from a Yankee Group panel of business decision-makers and Mobile Enterprise readers. Among the respondents, 274 were from companies with more than 500 employees, and 292 were from SMBs.
The survey projected that while most of the smartphone initiatives in recent years have been aimed at individual consumers, some 78 million wireless subscribers are business users, with that number expected to grow to 90…