Study Finds One-In-Four Cell Phone Calls Suck
While we were never big fans of Verizon Wireless's "Can you hear me now?" commercials, we found that the TV spots did sum up many of the frustrations many cell phone users at the time were having with their carriers: Poor signals and even poorer call quality. In the few months since we last saw one of those ads, our marvelous advances in technology have solved all concerns regarding call quality, right? Not really, apparently, since a recent study from Ditech has found that 23% of all cell phone calls do not meet industry standards for quality.
Interestingly, though, the carriers themselves weren't necessarily to blame for the poor quality. Instead, the phones were the culprits.The leading reasons for poor call quality were ambient noise and echo, both caused by handsets unable to separate callers voices from other outside noises.
Carriers are still ultimately the ones who should take the blame for the poor quality, though. They are, after all, the ones who push cheap or free phones with poor internal components on their subscribers.
From Consumerist
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Shelley Allen @ Feb 13th 2008 8:26PM
I have the iphone and don't know whats worse the phone or the sucky AT&T service. I would like to sue AT&T for false advertising about "fewest dropped call". Thats all I get are dropped calls.
Darin @ Feb 13th 2008 8:30PM
Cell phones are the worst and companies charging to recieve an incoming call is illegal,, Double taxation without represation and it doesn't cost a thing extra to call around the globe or your home phone. Why the charges because they can. The FCC needs to see that they are breaking simple rules about usage and intrappment of accepting incoming calls.. In Special Forces we used Sattalite phones all over without the troubles we find on cell phones.. Why charge for shitty service? Because they can.. We I retired we got to keep the phones for 3 years at no cost and even had hard lines numbers for free long distance.. Why? Because charging is a ripp out,, they want money..
Cam @ Feb 13th 2008 8:46PM
Shelley Anne,
don't worry...I work for a big cell phone company and put your mind at ease knowing that we won a HUGE lawsuit against AT&T for using that quote. After legit research, we found out that our company beats them out in "dropped calls" so as of last fall AT&T are ABSOLUTLEY NOT ALLOWED to use that phrase in their commercials anymore. Really listen to the commercials now, you won't ever hear them say that again!
Casandra @ Feb 13th 2008 8:46PM
My brother and I had an ongoing joke when those ads first starting ... the reason they have the fewest dropped calls is because you can't make the connection in the first place therefore the "call" cannot be dropped.
cathy @ Feb 13th 2008 9:06PM
omg dont let me get started.....I have so many complaints about at&t,,,they are always saying we have the least dropped calls????well as we all know they are wrong you cant talk to anyone anywhere without the phone cutting out or "dropping phone calls" can you hear me know????no didnt think so...lol
Keith @ Feb 13th 2008 9:09PM
When AT&T and Cingular merged they must have scrapped Cingular's network and used the crappy AT&T network....raising the bar, more bars in more places, yeah right. Their service makes you want to go to the bar and get good n drunk because you got their service in the first place.
doc @ Feb 13th 2008 9:12PM
Shelley Anne,
don't worry...I work for a big cell phone company and put your mind at ease knowing that we won a HUGE lawsuit against AT&T for using that quote. After legit research, we found out that our company beats them out in "dropped calls" so as of last fall AT&T are ABSOLUTLEY NOT ALLOWED to use that phrase in their commercials anymore. Really listen to the commercials now, you won't ever hear them say that again!
02/13/08 8:46 PM
yeah, i'll sleep better at night now... idiot.
ralph @ Feb 13th 2008 9:16PM
at&t just merged with my old carrier cellular one just to get their network in upstate ny. but now i'm getting "all ckts are busy" when i call another at&t phone. does anyone else experience this?
Steve @ Feb 13th 2008 9:25PM
My wife and I travel a lot and she has AT&T and I have Verizon, we have found that the AT&T works 9 out of ten times, and the Verizon works 8 out of ten times. The quality of the Calls is better with AT&T we have found.
William @ Feb 13th 2008 9:37PM
I believe it's not the service which is dropping the calls, it's the crappy phones themselves. I still use the Nokia phone. Everyone around me says, "Now that's Antique", but let me tell you, I have never lost one call ever. With all the touch screens and what not, I just felt more comfortable with the older phone that I knew how to use. So what if I only have certain ring phones, I hear it ring. It's all the new high priced cheap phones that get the crappy service.
Christy @ Feb 13th 2008 9:42PM
I have great service with AT&T. It's the Verizon users that keep losing their calls to us. I had trouble with AT&T when it first switched over from Cingular though.
liz @ Feb 13th 2008 9:43PM
i don't understand why people say that they are that different let me tell you they are all about the same. it depends on the area you happen to be making the call from. some areas att is better, and in some verizon is better, and in some tmobile is better i've had all 3 and its about the same. the only difference is price everything else is just about the same.
Gayle Davis @ Feb 13th 2008 9:48PM
My wife and I have been using "mobile Phones" since the late 1970's, For what that is worth. We have been with verizon now for quite a few years without any problems at all. Never a dropped call and never have lost acall while traveling. PERFECT 4 US.
Dale @ Feb 13th 2008 9:54PM
Alltel sucks too. They show the entire state of Florida dark blue, meaning their phones work all over the state - NO THEY DON'T. There's a huge chunk of central FL that you have to "double dial" (this is a secret they don't tell you about until you've bought the phone and find it doesn't work). Furthermore, once you find out how bad it is, they won't refund your money.
Momma Mel @ Feb 13th 2008 9:59PM
I agree about AT&T. Of everyone in our family, my sister-in-law has the best overall service with T-mobile. she is the only one that gets a signal at the family lake house. My husband uses Nextel due to work, and out-of-town it stinks, BUT he is the only one that can use his phone inside our house. (We are semi-rural)
CJ @ Feb 13th 2008 9:59PM
I have to agree with William that it's the phones. I've had service with SunCom, bought out by Cingular, bought out by AT&T and have always had Nokia phones. I have NEVER had a dropped call, whether local, state-to-state, or even out of the country. I just wish I'd kept my "antique" like he did. My phone (bought about 2 years ago) is nice and has all the bells and whistles, but I often wish I'd just kept the old one. It did the job - and much more easily!
kris @ Feb 13th 2008 10:00PM
you know, i might catch alot of slack for this, but my husband and I only have the Nokia tracfones and we absolutely love them, no monthly bills, we use then when we want to, and we never drop a call, and i dont have to worry about him when he is out on his 4-wheeler because they all have GPS! we have carried the tracfone since they first came out
Joy @ Feb 13th 2008 10:00PM
I've used Nextel/Sprint for around 9 years. Never once have I had a "dropped call". Used several different brand phones over the years, too, so I know it's the service. I'll never change!
me @ Feb 13th 2008 10:09PM
I have 4 Verizon phones and have not dropped a call EVER! We have had their service since 2000 when they first came out. I had nextel for work and it sucked. I never had worst service. All my friends that have had at & t now have verizon.
Gina @ Feb 13th 2008 10:11PM
I've used 3-4 different services and have had 5-6 different phones - all Nokia. We have the family plan on ATT for quite a while now, but everybody has a different brand of phone. It's funny, we've never had much of a problem with our calls to each other - from east coast to west coast. However, I have a friend who has an expensive Samsung on ATT, and lives north of LA. The only place that she can get service in her apartment is sitting in the middle of her bed; not any place else in her apartment or even outside on the balcony. Really strange.