AT&T Vs Verizon

AT&T is one of the largest service providers in the telecommunication industry in United States. With more than 150 million customers it is the second largest wireless service provider in United States. It was honored with ‘Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards’ in 2008 for developing the ‘Coaxial Cable Technology’. The company’s range of products includes Telephone, Internet and Television.


AT&T has innumerous network and coverage issues and many of its customers are complaining. Recently it had a coverage issue in New England area when almost 60% of the international calls were shut down. Its long-distance service delivery is very poor in this area and this led many dissatisfied customers, switch to other telecom networks. Some common complaints are call dropping, dead/ no coverage areas; incoming calls go directly to voice mails, overcharges, poor customer service quality and many more. Though its has pros such as flexible plans, excellent data services, coverage on major highways and roadways, however, it still is unable to work well in rural areas and its coverage is really bad in northern New England.

Verizon Communications is one such American broadband and telecommunications company that is taking advantage of the current situation of AT&T. The market opportunity is bright enough for Verizon to grab as much market share as they can and they are putting in efforts well to do so. The high quality of customer service, better network and coverage, cheaper call rates are some of the factors where Verizon is playing to gain market share. According to a research report, Verizon’s ‘Dropped Call’ rate for 90 days is only 2.7% where as AT&T has a 3.6% rate. The customer satisfaction level on the basis of the service deliver is also higher for Verizon being 43% and on the other hand AT&T has only 29%.

AT&T even though is having coverage issues; it still has an important share in the market. The main reason for that is: The Apple iPhone. But customers cannot do without proper coverage. They will soon switch to other networks. Thus, the company is finding ways to satisfy their customers. Recently, AT&T released free application to report network problems. Just like we report crashes in Windows or Mac OS X, we can now mark the spot where and what network problems we faced and submit it so that it can be reviewed and rectified by the company.

If you travel a lot, then AT&T can be very annoying, but if you stay in an area where coverage is good, then you must opt for AT&T. You can see the coverage of AT&T’s network in your location by entering your area in this website:

http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/#?type=voice

When two large telecom companies compete with each other, the result is always excellent. The one who will benefit is the customer. Verizon and AT&T are trying their best to win the loyalty of their customers. Hence, an excellent product and a fantabulous service experience can be expected soon.

- Brian Kingsley, Director of Technical Services, ACS Services, Boston