	According to Our National Survey, Most Consumers Are Satisfied with Their Wireless Phone Service, but Some Have Experienced Problems

According to our survey results, overall, wireless phone service consumers  are satisfied with the service they receive. Stakeholders we interviewed identified a number of areas in which  consumers have reported problems with their wireless phone service in  recent years. Based on our survey results, we estimate that most wireless phone users  are satisfied with these five specific aspects of service; however, the  percentages of those very or somewhat dissatisfied range from about 9 to  14 percent, depending on the specific aspect of service (see table 2). We also estimate that  85 percent of wireless phone users are very or somewhat satisfied with  call quality, while the percentages of those very or somewhat satisfied  with billing, contract terms, carrier’s explanation of key aspects of service  at the point of sale, and customer service range from about 70 to 76  percent. Other results of the survey suggest that some wireless phone consumers  have recently experienced problems with billing, certain contract terms,  and customer service since the beginning of 2008. For example, we  estimate that during this time about 34 percent of wireless phone users  responsible for paying for their service received unexpected charges, and  about 31 percent had difficulty understanding their bill at least some of the  time. Further, among wireless users who wanted to switch  carriers during this time but did not do so, we estimate that 42 percent did  not switch because they did not want to pay an early termination fee. In response to the areas of consumer concern noted above, wireless  carriers have taken a number of actions in recent years. FCC Assists Consumers with Wireless Complaints but Lacks Clear Goals and Outcome Measures for These Efforts

FCC assists wireless consumers by handling thousands of their informal  complaints each year, but consumers may lack awareness of this process  and its intended outcomes. FCC has a process to receive consumers’  complaints and forward them to carriers for a response. As a  consequence, FCC’s effectiveness in assisting wireless consumers with  complaints is unclear and consumers may not understand what to expect  from FCC’s complaint process. According to FCC officials,  the agency informs consumers they may complain to FCC about problems  with their wireless service or other telecommunications services by  providing information on how to complain to the agency on its Web site  and in fact sheets that are distributed to consumers through its Web site  and other methods. Once FCC receives a response from the  carrier, the agency reviews the response, and if FCC determines the  response has addressed the consumer’s complaint, marks the complaint as  closed. Since, based on our survey results, we estimate that about 21 percent of  wireless phone users who contacted their carriers’ customer service were  dissatisfied with how their carriers addressed their concerns, FCC’s efforts  to handle complaints are an important means by which consumers may be  able to get assistance in resolving their problems. FCC Lacks Clear Goals and Measures for Its Complaint Handling Efforts

FCC has not articulated goals that clearly identify intended outcomes for  its efforts to address wireless consumer complaints and lacks measures to  demonstrate how well it is achieving intended outcomes. FCC officials told us that they do not measure customer  experience with the agency’s call centers and Web sites, but sometimes  receive anecdotal information from customers about their experiences. Thus, it is not clear if the intended  outcome of FCC’s complaint handling efforts is resolving consumer  problems, fostering communication between consumers and carriers, or  both. We also expect to make recommendations at that time. Our aim was to  produce nationally representative estimates of adult wireless phone  service users’ (1) satisfaction with wireless service overall and with  specific aspects of service, including billing, terms of service, carriers’  explanation of key aspects of service, call quality and coverage, and  customer service; (2) frequency of problems with call quality and billing;  (3) desire to switch carriers and barriers to switching; and (4) knowledge  of where to complain about problems. To identify the type and nature of problems consumers have experienced  in recent years with their wireless phone service, we interviewed officials  from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), consumer  organizations, national organizations that represent state agency  officials, and state agency officials from three selected states—California,  Nebraska, and West Virginia—representing utility commissions, offices of  consumer advocates, and offices of attorneys general.
Why GAO Did This Study

The use of wireless phone service in the United States has risen dramatically over the last 20 years, with an estimated 270 million subscribers as of December 2008. Americans increasingly rely on wireless phones as their primary or sole means of telephone communication. Concerns have been raised in recent years about the quality of this service, including specific concerns about billing and carriers' contract terms, such as fees charged for terminating service before the end of a contract period. Under federal law, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has flexibility in regulating wireless phone service carriers. FCC's rules include procedures for addressing consumer complaints. This testimony provides preliminary information on (1) consumers' current satisfaction with wireless phone service and problems consumers have experienced with this service (2) FCC's efforts to assist wireless consumers with complaints. The statement is based on related ongoing work that GAO is conducting for this committee and plans to report on later this year. To conduct this work, GAO surveyed 1,143 adult wireless phone users from a nationally representative, randomly selected sample and interviewed and analyzed documents obtained from FCC and various stakeholder organizations representing consumers, state agencies and officials, and industry.

What GAO Found

On the basisof its national survey of adult wireless phone users, GAO estimates that overall, 84 percent of users are very or somewhat satisfied with their wireless phone service. Stakeholders GAO interviewed cited billing, terms of the service contract, carriers' explanation of their service at the point of sale, call quality, and customer service as key aspects of service in which consumers have experienced problems with wireless phone service in recent years. GAO's survey results indicate that while most wireless phone users are very or somewhat satisfied with each of these key aspects of wireless phone service, the percentages of those very or somewhat dissatisfied with these specific aspects ranged from about 9 to 14 percent. GAO's survey results also indicate that some wireless phone service consumers have experienced problems with billing, certain contract terms, and customer service. For example, GAO estimates that about a third of users responsible for paying their bills had problems understanding their bills or had unexpected charges at least some of the time. Additionally, GAO estimates fees for the early termination of a contract were a problem for about 42 percent of users who wanted to switch services but did not, and that about 21 percent of users who contacted customer service with a specific problem were dissatisfied with their carriers' efforts to address the problem. In response to the types of consumer problems noted above, wireless carriers have taken some actions, such as prorating early termination fees, offering noncontract service options, and spending billions of dollars each year on wireless infrastructure, which can improve call quality. FCC assists wireless consumers by handling thousands of their complaints about carriers' service each year, but consumers may lack awareness of this process and its intended outcomes. FCC reviews consumer complaints submitted through its call centers and Web site, forwards complaints to carriers for response, reviews the carriers' responses, and closes complaints when it finds the responses sufficient. While FCC informs consumers through its Web site and fact sheets that they may submit complaints to it, GAO's survey results suggest that most consumers do not know they can do so and many do not know where they could complain. FCC has not articulated goals that clearly identify intended outcomes of its efforts to address consumer complaints and lacks measures to demonstrate how well it is achieving intended outcomes. For example, FCC has a goal to "improve customer experience" with its call centers and Web site, through which consumers submit complaints, but lacks measures of customer experience. Further, it is not clear if the intended outcome of FCC's complaint handling efforts is resolving consumer problems or fostering communication between consumers and carriers. Consequently, consumers may not understand what to expect from FCC's complaint process, and the effectiveness of FCC's efforts to assist consumers with complaints is unclear. GAO plans to complete its ongoing work in the fall, and expects to make recommendations at that time.