AT&T

In surveys by Consumer Reports, J.D. Power and Associates and PC Magazine, AT&T falls significantly behind Verizon Wireless (*est. $40 per month and up) and T-Mobile (*est. $30 per month and up). Overall, AT&T receives average or below average scores across the board. The one exception is in the Southwest, where AT&T is rated "better than most" by users in the J.D. Power and Associates survey. PC Magazine readers, however, score AT&T lower in five out of 11 service categories, with fees, plan options, customer service and call quality all rated significantly below average. On the upside, AT&T is the only carrier that offers the popular Apple iPhone. Another strong suit, according to Consumer Reports, is that AT&T has rollover minutes that last a year and plans that allow parents to control their children's phone access and usage. AT&T also receives high ratings by TopTenReviews.com for its phone selection, and it scores highly with PC Magazine readers for its choice of handsets.

The most reliable way to assess cellular provider performance is through large user surveys, the best of which poll users about their satisfaction with network coverage, call quality, customer service, plan options, technical support and cost. We consulted three major surveys: Consumer Reports, which based its findings on responses from about 52,000 subscribers in 23 major cities; J.D. Power and Associates, which polled more than 21,000 users; and PC Magazine, which solicited feedback from about 20,000 of its readers. We also consulted TopTenReviews.com, which compares features albeit not call quality of 10 cell phone carriers, as well as user opinions at PhoneDog.com.