Mobile Data Speed Gap Between Verizon and Sprint is Shocking

We can debate the significance of consumer satisfaction and network performance rankings conducted on 100-point scales, when scores are very similar. Sometimes, though, scores are not similar. 

That appears to be the case for the "speed index" ranking of the four largest U.S. mobile service providers, where the range between the best performance by Verizon, at about 76, is significant, compared to the worst performance, by Sprint, at 54. 

On most other measures, though Verizon generally leads, followed closely by AT&T, there is a gap between T-Mobile US and Sprint, according to RootMetrics. 

Overall, there still is a sizable gap between Verizon, at about 82, with AT&T at about 80, and T-Mobile US at about 72 and Sprint at 70. 

One might argue a 10-point gap in any single market or industry is significant. Customer satisfaction rankings of Verizon and Time Warner video subscription services are a case in point, where there is abou a nine-point gap, on a 100-point scale. 

Typically, differences in measured customer satisfaction feature less dynamic range between the best and worst scores. A 20-point gap is virtually unheard of. 

All the four national carriers score most evenly in the area of text messaging, where the gap is just a couple of points between high and low. On most other measures, the performance gap between Verizon and AT&T on one hand, and T-Mobile US and Sprint, on the other hand, matches with the market share positions. 

At some level, customer experience with Verizon and AT&T seems to correlate with market share held by each of the four carriers.