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Dec 03, 2008 -- Consumer Reports on the best and worst cell carriers

Clark wants to unveil the results of Consumer Reports' annual survey of the cell phone industry -- just in time for the flurry of activity in December and January when people switch carriers.

We get so many complaints about the nation's cell phone companies. It used to be that our complaints were all about cable, cable, cable. But recent customer satisfaction surveys from the University of Michigan find the cable and cell phone industries neck-in-neck at the bottom of the heap.

Cable providers are monopolies so it's natural for them to specialize in customer no service. But what gives in the cell phone world -- where you have multiple players competing for your business?

Sprint is again rated the lowest on customer satisfaction, dropped calls and customer service. Yet the new survey also finds that middle-of-the-pack AT&T has dropped to low Sprint-like levels for the first time when it comes to customer service.

In another surprise, Alltel has been singled out for great rates and customer service. However, Alltel is only available in certain areas for about 60 million Americans.

T-Mobile holds steady with good customer service and very competitive rates among the national players. And Verizon continues to be the best overall company, but they're very expensive.

Are you in a non-Alltel area and looking for a compromise? Clark suggests T-Mobile -- the only carrier that will work with the Google Phone.
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