Consumer Cellular has retained first place in Market Force Information’s wireless brand ranking for a third consecutive report, ahead of the major national carriers on overall brand performance and on the research firm’s Customer Loyalty Index. Cricket also finished at the front of the field in the 2026 Wireless Benchmark Study.
The study drew on responses from 1,647 U.S. consumers and represents the third wave of the programme, following data collected in 2023 and 2025. It examines provider experience metrics alongside brand image, churn behaviour, device satisfaction and demographic trends.
Price gap separates value brands from national networks
Monthly bills illustrate the divide. Verizon subscribers reported an average monthly bill of $160.04, while TracFone customers reported paying $25.00. The figures point to two distinct retail positions: national networks base pricing on network ownership and subscriber scale, while value brands compete primarily on the headline monthly price.
Brand performance followed a similar pattern. Consumer Cellular scored 72.3 percent, more than double AT&T’s 34.2 percent. On loyalty, AT&T recorded 3.90 and Verizon 3.96 on the Customer Loyalty Index, both below the 25th-percentile mark of 4.08. The result leaves the two largest incumbent carriers at the bottom of the ranking.
Switching intent centres on cost
Almost one in five respondents, or 19 percent, said they were actively considering a move to another provider. Cost of service remained the most-cited reason for a third year, named by 12 percent, followed by promotional deal-seeking at 10.3 percent.
Network factors still mattered. Data speed was cited by 8.5 percent and call clarity by 7 percent, placing them among the top four reasons. The results suggest engineering quality continues to influence decisions as coverage differences narrow.
Among former T-Mobile customers, 76.6 percent cited monthly service cost as their reason for leaving. The survey described a price-led churn pattern. It also indicates that the pressure shows up more as concern over bills than as an immediate rush for the exits: most switching recirculates among the big three, and long tenure keeps accounts in place well after satisfaction begins to decline.
Service issues ease, but support burden remains
Sherri Weed, COO at Market Force Information, said the findings point to a structural disconnect between market dominance and customer satisfaction. She said carriers with the largest subscriber bases are not delivering the experiences that create loyalty, adding that this is not only a customer-experience problem but a business risk, and that the data makes the pattern clear over time.
Service problems eased across the industry, falling from 30 percent of customers in 2023 to 22 percent in the latest wave. About one-fifth of the customer base still encounters an issue, a residue that falls on support teams and field engineering rather than on the tariff sheet.
Device ranking shifts
Hardware rankings also changed. Samsung finished ahead of iPhone in the Brand Competitiveness Ranking for the first time in the study’s history.