More than one-fourth of wireless subscribers have replaced their traditional landline connections at home and are now using wireless services exclusively, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 U.S. Wireless Contract Regional Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Study – Volume 2.

Among the 27 percent of wireless customers who have replaced their landline phone with wireless service, 61 percent have completely disconnected their home landline service. And 29 percent of wireless customers ages 18 to 24 have made the switch, compared with only 9 percent of subscribers who are 65 years or older.

Subscribers who have used wireless longer are more likely to switch exclusively to wireless service, the study found. In particular, customers who have used wireless service for three years or more report higher landline disconnection levels than those who have used wireless for less than one year (19 percent compared with 9 percent, respectively).

Satisfaction levels are also higher among those who have decided to disconnect their landline (691 points), compared with those who still have the service in their home (681 points), according to the study.

“The user experience has steadily improved for wireless customers, and the number of features and applications available for cell phones has increased considerably during the past two years, so it is not unexpected to find that many wireless subscribers are choosing to replace their landline phone entirely with wireless service,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates. “Wireless service has truly improved to the point where quality and performance are no longer barriers in the decision-making process around switching to exclusive wireless service usage.”

The study measures customer satisfaction based on six key factors that impact overall wireless carrier performance. In order of importance, they are: call quality (32 percent), brand image (17 percent), cost of service (14 percent), service plan options (14 percent), billing (12 percent) and customer service (11 percent). Carriers are ranked across six regions in the United States: the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, North Central, Southwest and West.

Verizon Wireless ranked highest in five regions – the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, North Central and West – and performed well regarding call quality and brand image in each region. T-Mobile ranked highest in the Southwest region, performing well in cost of service, service plan options, billing and customer service.

Volume 2 of the study, available here, is based on responses from 20,269 wireless users from the fielding period between February and June 2008.

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