Consumer Cellular has taken the top spot in Market Force Information’s wireless brand ranking for a third consecutive report, according to the 2026 Wireless Benchmark Study. The value carrier led the national networks on overall brand performance and on the firm’s Customer Loyalty Index, with Cricket also placed at the front of the field.
The study drew on fieldwork with 1,647 U.S. consumers and represents the third wave of the programme, following data collected in 2023 and 2025. It tracks provider experience metrics alongside brand image, churn behaviour, device satisfaction and demographic trends.
Pricing data in the report underline the gap between value and national brands. Verizon subscribers reported an average monthly bill of $160.04, while TracFone customers paid $25.00. Market Force said the difference highlights two retail positions: national networks price on network ownership and subscriber scale, while value brands compete almost entirely on 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’s Customer Loyalty Index score of 3.90 and Verizon’s 3.96 both fell below the 25th-percentile mark of 4.08, leaving the two largest incumbents at the bottom of the field.
The survey also found that almost one in five customers, or 19 percent, were actively weighing a move to another provider. Cost of service held the top stated reason for a third year running, cited by 12 percent of respondents, while 10.3 percent named promotional deal-seeking. Data speed and call clarity rounded out the top four reasons at 8.5 percent and 7 percent respectively, suggesting engineering quality still affects decisions as coverage differences narrow.
Among former T-Mobile customers, 76.6 percent cited monthly service cost as their reason for leaving. Market Force described that as a price-led churn pattern. The survey indicates pressure on bills rather than 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 slide.
“What we’re seeing is a structural disconnect between market dominance and customer satisfaction,” said Sherri Weed, COO at Market Force Information. “The carriers with the largest subscriber bases are not delivering the experiences that create loyalty. That’s not just a CX problem, it’s a business risk, and the data makes that very clear over time.”
Service problems eased across the industry, dropping from 30 percent of customers in 2023 to 22 percent in the latest wave. Roughly a fifth of the base still encounters an issue, the report said, and that residue falls on support teams and field engineering rather than on the tariff sheet. Hardware rankings also moved: Samsung finished ahead of iPhone on the study’s Brand Competitiveness Ranking for the first time.