Although AT&T has been downplaying the possible impact of the Verizon iPhone on its customer base, a survey by ChangeWave Research points to very bad news for the wireless carrier. A survey of 4,050 U.S. wireless customers, conducted just before Verizon announced that it will start begin shipping its version of the iPhone 4 as of Feb. 10, 2011, indicated that 16 percent of AT&T customers surveyed will switch once the iPhone comes to Verizon. Additionally, more than 1/4 of current iPhone owners (26 percent) say they will leave AT&T for Verizon.
Even without the Verizon iPhone as a factor, the churn rates for the carriers show bad news for both AT&T and T-Mobile. 15 percent of both those carriers customers plan on switching carriers in the next 90 days. Only 10 percent of Sprint's customers plan on switching, and a mere 4 percent of Verizon's.
Of the AT&T switchers, 69 percent cite issues with either coverage or dropped calls. Just 17 percent said cost was behind their switch (and those probably wouldn't be too happy with the cost of Verizon's service).
Despite the fact that 27 percent of the above listed dropped calls as the reason they would leave AT&T, according to ChangeWave's data, AT&T's dropped call numbers have improved quite a bit. In September, 6 percent said they had dropped calls. In December, only 4.7 percent said they experienced a dropped call. That still pales next to Verizon's numbers: only 1.7 percent experienced a dropped call in December.
