MetroPCS Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Prepaid Wireless

                                   Users



    WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., July 24 /EMWNews/ -- Overall satisfaction

among prepaid wireless customers who subscribe to flat-rate plans with

unlimited minutes is considerably higher than that of customers who

subscribe to per-minute price plans, primarily due to cost advantages

associated with flat-rate plans, according to the J.D. Power and Associates

2008 U.S. Wireless Prepaid Customer Satisfaction Study(SM) released today.



    



    Now in its third year, the study measures customer satisfaction with

current prepaid wireless service across seven key factors. In order of

importance, they are: call quality (24%); company image (19%); cost of

service (17%); account management (15%); initial activation (11%); service

plan options (8%); and customer service (6%).



    The study finds that overall satisfaction among prepaid wireless

customers that subscribe to flat-rate pricing plans with unlimited minutes

is 764 on a 1,000-point scale, which is considerably higher than that of

subscribers of traditional per-minute pricing plans (717, on average). This

gap in satisfaction is primarily driven by differences in the cost of

service, as well as by the benefit of unlimited minutes available in

flat-rate plans. In particular, unlimited-plan customers report higher

satisfaction levels with the amount of airtime minutes offered for the

price paid, the overall cost-per-minute charges and the cost per

transaction to refill minutes in their account.



    "Prepaid customers are clearly responding favorably to these unique

service plan options, as they provide a cost-effective alternative to

traditional price-per-minute plans that are typically offered and allow

customers freedom from worrying about being charged extra fees for making

too many calls within a given time period," said Kirk Parsons, senior

director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates. "Although plans

with unlimited minutes typically have geographic restrictions for placing

and receiving wireless calls, they still fulfill customer expectations and

tend to meet a specific service need better than other wireless plans. In

fact, 46 percent of unlimited plan customers have completely replaced their

traditional landline phone with wireless service, compared with only 13

percent of traditional pay-as-you-go customers."



    The study also finds that satisfaction ratings for the initial

activation process also vary greatly between customers that subscribe to,

flat-rate prepaid plans with unlimited minutes and subscribers of

traditional, per-minute plans. Specifically, customer satisfaction scores

with plans that have unlimited minutes average 862, compared with only 756

among traditional prepaid calling plans. The ease of initially subscribing

to the plan and activating the phone are the two areas driving the gap in

satisfaction.



    MetroPCS ranks highest in prepaid wireless satisfaction for the first

time since the inception of the study and performs particularly well in

five out of seven factors that drive overall satisfaction: cost of service,

account management, initial activation, brand image, and service plan

options. Also ranking above the industry average are TracFone, Cricket,

Virgin Mobile and T-Mobile To Go, respectively.



    "In particular, MetroPCS differentiates itself from the competition in

areas related to the cost of service, account management and service

functions," said Parsons. "From initial account setup and activation to

account management tools and variety of pricing plans available, MetroPCS

provides its customers with important elements that positively impact their

daily service experiences."



    The study also finds the following key prepaid wireless usage patterns:



    -- Prepaid users spend $40 on average when purchasing additional

airtime -- an increase of $2 from 2007. In comparison, the average monthly

service cost for postpaid customers in 2008 is $76.



    -- Prepaid customers report using 233 minutes per month. Conversely,

postpaid customers average 543 minutes per month.



    -- Approximately 63 percent of prepaid phones that are prepackaged with

minutes are purchased from retail stores, while an additional 20 percent of

customers report purchasing a prepackaged phone via the Internet.

Approximately 17 percent of customers purchase activated minute cards

separately from their cell phones.



    -- Twenty-six percent of prepaid customers refill minutes approximately

once per month, marking a decrease from 29 percent in 2007. An additional

14 percent refill their plan minutes at least twice a month.



    The 2008 Wireless Prepaid Customer Satisfaction Study is based on

responses from 3,316 wireless customers who currently subscribe to prepaid

service plans. Findings are based on a continuous fielding period between

February and May 2008. For more information on customer satisfaction with

wireless service, cell phone call quality, wireless retail sales, cell

phone handsets, and business wireless service, please visit JDPower.com.










    Overall Wireless Mobile Phone Index Rankings

    (Based on a 1,000-point scale)



    Provider                 Overall Satisfaction Score   Power Circle Rating



    MetroPCS                            791                        5

    TracFone                            739                        4

    Cricket                             738                        4

    Virgin Mobile                       732                        4

    T-Mobile To Go                      724                        3

    Industry Average                    719                        3

    Boost Mobile                        717                        3

    Alltel                              700                        2

    Verizon Wireless                    693                        2

    AT&T GoPhone                        689                        2

    About J.D. Power and Associates



    Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is

a global marketing information services company operating in key business

sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement,

training and customer satisfaction. The company's quality and satisfaction

measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually.

For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health

insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D.

Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.



    About The McGraw-Hill Companies



    Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a leading

global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the

financial services, education and business information markets through

leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education,

BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than

280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2007 were $6.8 billion. Additional

information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.






     J.D. Power and Associates Media Contacts:

     John Tews                     Syvetril Perryman

     Troy, Mich.                   Westlake Village, Calif.

     (248) 312-4119                (805) 418-8103

     [email protected]            [email protected]

    No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information

in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and

Associates. http://www.jdpower.com/corporate