J.D. Power 2026 ISP Satisfaction Study: What It Means When You Pick a Provider
Updated
Wireless home internet still leads wired service on customer satisfaction in J.D. Power’s 2026 U.S. Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study, but the gap is closing. On a 1,000-point scale, wireless scored 645 overall and wired scored 560. That is an eight-point narrower gap than in 2025, when wireless sat at 647 and wired at 554. Wired rose six points; wireless dipped two.
If you are choosing fiber, cable or 5G home internet today, treat the rankings as a regional signal, not a street-level guarantee. T-Mobile ranked highest among national wireless providers for the third straight year (659). On the wired side, GFiber led the South (707), Verizon led the East for the 14th straight year (592), and AT&T led the North Central (578) and West (595). Check which networks reach your address first, then use these scores when you compare value, app support and how hard problems are to fix.
Overall scores: wireless vs wired (2026)
J.D. Power surveyed 31,548 consumers from August 2025 through August 2026. Scores run on a 1,000-point scale. The study credits wired’s gain to better digital tools and a clearer sense of value for the price paid. Carl Lepper of J.D. Power put it plainly: stable internet is no longer enough to stand out. Providers have to compete on value, trust and the digital experience.
| Metric (as of the 2026 study) | Wireless | Wired |
|---|---|---|
| Overall satisfaction (1,000-pt scale) | 645 | 560 |
| 2025 overall (for comparison) | 647 | 554 |
| Year-over-year change | −2 | +6 |
| Share who say their plan is affordable | 70% | 55% |
| Average monthly spend | $77 (up) | $84 (held) |
| Website issue resolution, no complications | 710 | 625 |
| Same measure when problems hit during the process | 614 (−96) | 458 (−167) |
| Share who used the app to fix a problem | 38% | 28% |
| First-contact resolution via app | 90% | 85% |
| First-contact resolution via phone | 69% | 67% |
Two shopper takeaways jump out. First, affordability still favors wireless in customers’ minds even though wireless bills rose and wired bills held near $84. Second, when self-serve tools break down, satisfaction collapses — especially on wired. If a provider’s app and site are weak where you live, that shows up in these numbers.
Regional wired winners and the top wireless brand
| Category | Winner (2026) | Score | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|
| National wireless | T-Mobile | 659 | 3rd straight year |
| Wired — South | GFiber | 707 | 4th straight year |
| Wired — West | AT&T | 595 | 5th straight year |
| Wired — East | Verizon | 592 | 14th straight year |
| Wired — North Central | AT&T | 578 | 4th straight year |
GFiber’s 707 in the South is the standout wired score in this release. Verizon’s long East streak and AT&T’s dual-region lead matter most if those brands already wire your street. T-Mobile has no RSINC provider hub page yet, so we cover its 5G home tradeoffs in our 5G home internet vs Frontier vs T-Mobile and fiber vs 5G home internet guides rather than linking a missing hub.
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What digital tools and value mean when you shop
The study’s digital and value findings are more useful day to day than a single brand name. Wired providers improved when customers felt they got more for their money and when websites and apps actually resolved issues. When the self-serve path failed, wired satisfaction fell 167 points, to 458. Wireless fell too, but less hard.
App use is still low: only about three in ten wired customers and under four in ten wireless customers used an app to fix a problem. When they did, first-contact resolution jumped to 85% wired and 90% wireless, versus 67% and 69% on the phone. Before you sign a new plan, open the provider’s app store listing and support site. If outage maps, chat and billing tools look thin, that risk is baked into these scores.
Price perception is another split. Seven in ten wireless customers called their plan affordable, against 55% of wired customers, even though wireless average spend rose to $77 while wired held at $84. If you are on cable from Xfinity, Spectrum or Optimum, ask what you will pay after the promo ends and whether a low-income or ACP-successor offer still applies. Our guides on low-income internet through Xfinity and low-income internet through AT&T walk through those paths.
How to use these rankings when you pick a provider
- Start with coverage, not the trophy. A 707 South score does not help if GFiber is not on your street. Run an address check first.
- Prefer fiber where both fiber and 5G reach you and you need matching uploads for work, cloud backups or hosting. Satisfaction leadership for wireless does not erase physics: fixed wireless still shares a cell sector.
- Weigh promo price against the study’s affordability gap. Wired customers feel less value at roughly the same monthly spend. Ask for the post-promo rate in writing.
- Test the digital path before you need it. Create an account, try chat and confirm you can see outages without calling. App first-contact resolution beat phone by a wide margin in this study.
- Use regional winners as a tie-breaker. When two wired options both reach you, the regional leader (Verizon East, AT&T West/North Central, GFiber South) is a reasonable secondary signal next to price and upload speed.
- Compare fiber vs 5G on purpose. Our fiber vs 5G home internet guide and AT&T vs Quantum Fiber comparison cover speed and upload tradeoffs the satisfaction study does not.
No fiber, cable or 5G at your address?
Outside town limits and in many rural ZIP codes, wired and 5G home options may not reach you. Satellite is the usual fallback. As of our October 2026 checks, Starlink Residential starts at $55/mo for 100 Mbps, with 200 Mbps at $85/mo and Residential Max at $130/mo. Viasat plans start at $39.99/mo for the first 12 months plus a $15/mo equipment lease. Customers who order Viasat through RSINC are guaranteed at least 80 Mbps download and 3–5 Mbps upload, and the Unleashed plan often runs around 180 Mbps. Hughesnet plans start at $39.99/mo for 12 months, with its Elite plan reaching up to 100 Mbps.
Still deciding between fiber, cable and 5G home?
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We already publish a 2025 broadband customer satisfaction report on RSINC. That page is a separate, older overview. This article is the 2026 J.D. Power study write-up with the current scores, regional winners and shopper takeaways. After this page goes live, that 2025 report should point readers here for the new numbers.
J.D. Power 2026 ISP satisfaction FAQ
Who ranked highest in the J.D. Power 2026 ISP satisfaction study?
T-Mobile ranked highest among national wireless home internet providers for the third straight year, with a score of 659. On the wired side, regional winners were GFiber in the South (707), AT&T in the West (595) and North Central (578), and Verizon in the East (592).
Does a high J.D. Power score mean that provider is best at my address?
No. Rankings are regional averages from survey responses, not a guarantee at your street. Check which networks actually reach your address, then use scores as one signal on value, digital tools and problem resolution.
Why do wireless ISPs still outscore wired ones?
In the 2026 study, wireless overall scored 645 versus 560 for wired on a 1,000-point scale. Wireless customers were more likely to call their plan affordable (70% vs 55%), and wireless scored higher on website issue resolution. Wired improved six points from 2025 and narrowed the gap by eight points.
Should I switch from cable or fiber to 5G home internet because of these scores?
Only if 5G home internet covers you well and you care more about price and app-based support than about matching upload speeds or a wired connection that holds up when the cell network is busy. Compare real speeds and monthly cost at your address before you switch.
How large was the J.D. Power 2026 sample?
J.D. Power based the 2026 U.S. Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study on 31,548 consumer responses collected from August 2025 through August 2026.
By RSINC. Study figures summarized October 12, 2026 from the 2026 J.D. Power U.S. Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study; plans, promotions and availability change often, so confirm at your address before you order.