A survey of thousands of consumers shows that a lack of competition and “abysmal” customer service make cable companies and ISPs the most disliked industries in the country. Credit: Comcast Americans still hate their pay TV providers and their ISPs. That’s not just hyperbole. The annual ACSI customer satisfaction survey of thousands of consumers ranks those outfits lower than the other 41 industry segments measured in the survey. Although wireless carriers also ranked very poorly, they at least improved a bit over last year, possibly because there’s finally some competition in that market, says ACSI founder Claes Fornell. But that’s not the case for the pay TV crowd, which in most cases got even worse over the last 12 months. “The threat of competition does not appear to be encouraging improvement fast enough for pay TV,” Fornell said in a press release. “Customer service remains abysmal, and viewers are continuing to switch over to streaming services with much higher customer satisfaction. Surprising no one, I’d bet, were the results for Comcast, a company well-known for problematic (to say the least) service. It finished next to last in the ranks of pay TV providers, ahead only of Mediacom. Although not being dead last is a bit of solace for the giant, that’s offset by the news that it’s score dropped some 6 percent compared to last year’s. I’ve reached out to Comcast and if the company responds I’ll update this post. Competition matters While T-Mobile has pressured its wireless rivals with price cuts and the end of two-year contracts, the pay TV space has gotten even less competitive. Charter swallowed up Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks to become the second-largest cable TV provider, second only to Comcast. AT&T now owns DirecTV, the second largest satellite TV provider. Insofar as there is competition in the industry, it comes from the threat of cord cutting – dropping cable or satellite TV in favor of cheaper streaming video services. Sadly, it’s quite possible that T-Mobile will disappear via purchase by Softbank, a move that would severely curtain completion among the major wireless carriers. Interestingly, the carrier that scored the highest in the ACSI survey wasn’t T-Mobile, but TracFone Wireless, a prepaid vendor that leases network capacity from other carriers. Tracfone led the pack with a score of 77. U.S. Cellular and Verizon were next, each with a score of 74, while Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T all scored 73. It’s not surprising that Internet service providers ranked so poorly. There’s simply too little competition in many parts of the country. “Low user satisfaction is the result of slow and unreliable service, compounded by limited competition,” commented Fornell. Verizon’s Fios service scored the best with a 74, the only company to do better than a 70, although it’s score slipped a bit since last year. Next was AT&T U-verse service with a score of 69. Comcast’s Xfinity, which is heavily promoted by its parent, improved a bit, scoring 60 for an eight-place finish. All in all, there are few surprises in this report, a product of extensive research. But the lack of progress in improving customer satisfaction is disappointing. All of these services are expensive; their customers deserve more for their money. Related content opinion Get ready to say goodbye to T-Mobile A Japanese conglomerate wants to buy T-Mobile and merge it with Sprint. What a disaster for consumers that will be. By Bill Snyder May 12, 2017 4 mins Small and Medium Business Consumer Electronics Mobile opinion Cunning hack attacks built-in Windows anti-malware software Quick action by Google and Microsoft appears to have put out the fire. But itu2019s another reminder that running old versions of Windows can be dangerous. By Bill Snyder May 10, 2017 2 mins Small and Medium Business Malware Windows Security opinion How to survive a move when your ISP can’t go with you Moving is a huge hassle, but hereu2019s a two-step solution that will keep you connected to the Internet without busting your budget. By Bill Snyder May 05, 2017 4 mins Internet Consumer Electronics opinion Hulu Live goes live with 50 channels for $40 a month The latest offering for cord cutters has potential, but the service has yet to shake out the startup bugs. By Bill Snyder May 04, 2017 4 mins Consumer Electronics Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe