AOL, MSN at Bottom of Web Survey
Thursday August 9 5:35 PM ET
dailynews.yahoo.com
By JIM KRANE, AP Technology Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - The world's two largest
Internet service providers, AOL Time
Warner Inc. (AOL - news) and Microsoft
Corp.'s (MSFT - news) MSN, came out on
the bottom of a customer satisfaction survey.
The survey released Thursday of 1,640
dial-up modem users, conducted by
Consumer Reports magazine, gave high
marks to AT&T WorldNet, BellSouth Corp.
(BLS - news) and EarthLink Inc. for overall
satisfaction.
MSN got the survey's lowest overall rating, due to dissatisfaction with
e-mail, technical support and reliability of its dial-up connections, said
David Heim, the Yonkers, N.Y.-based magazine's managing editor.
``If you're paying $20 for a busy signal it's not going to make you a
happy camper,'' Heim said.
Respondents also identified AOL as unreliable in terms of quick and
sustained dial-up access, said Heim.
``What seemed to matter most was being able to get on line in a hurry
and stay online without being kicked off,'' he said.
Sixty percent of AOL users answering the survey reported an
interruption in their connection during the previous month, the worst
rating among all ISPs examined, Heim said.
Users of AOL-owned CompuServe rated it next-worst for dropped
connections, Heim said.
Conversely, just 33 percent of AT&T WorldNet and EarthLink
services reported similar disconnections, he said
Based on a possible 100 points for perfection in all aspects of service,
the rankings of the eight providers examined by the magazine were as
follows: AT&T WorldNet, with 78 points; BellSouth, 76; EarthLink,
76; Prodigy, 73; Qwest Communications' Qwest.net, 70; AOL, 68;
CompuServe, 67; and MSN, 67. The survey guidelines state that
differences of five points or more are considered significant.
AT&T WorldNet was the top choice for connection speed and
reliability and offered the best array of low-cost plans.
Users also gave AT&T's e-mail service highest ratings.
Technical support assessments also favored the higher-rated providers
and panned AOL, CompuServe and MSN, said Heim.
``We're not painting AOL out to be a horrible company,'' said Heim.
``They still kept a majority of the respondents satisfied. AT&T just did
a much better job overall.''
MSN product manager Mark Wain said Microsoft continues to
upgrade its service to keep pace with growth in its user base.
``We're building out as fast as we can,'' Wain said. ``It's an ongoing
process for us.''
AOL spokesman Andrew Weinstein declined to comment on the
specifics of the survey. ``Our members have never been more
satisfied,'' he said noting that the magazine gave AOL high marks in
ease of use and other areas.
The survey users reported choosing AOL - the world's largest Internet
service provider, with 30 million users - primarily to communicate with
friends and access its user-friendly Web browser. AOL was also
chosen for strong parental controls, the magazine reported.
The magazine's September issue will carry a full report of the survey,
which asked about overall satisfaction, connection availability, speed
and interruptions, support, e-mail and downloads. |
