Raleigh-based Republic Wireless is the top-rated provider of prepaid wireless services, says Consumer Reports in a new survey of cell-phone service providers.

Founded by David Morken, who also serves as its CEO, Republic offers a growing variety of Motorola smartphones and services with prepaid plans starting as low as $5.

Eleven percent of those surveyed utilize prepaid plans, Consumer Reports said. The vast majority, 73 percent, have traditional plans.

The company offers a hybrid service that combines Wi-Fi connectivity with cellular coverage that is provided through Sprint.

Republic received an 88 out of 100 score based on value, voice, data, text and web service. 

Two other small carriers, Ting and Consumer Cellular, topped Consumer Reports’ survey of standard wireless providers. They beat out the big four providers: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint. Ting scored 91, Consumer Cellular 90.

“Smaller providers like Ting, Consumer Cellular, and Republic have excellent satisfaction ratings because they’re designing innovative strategies to keep plan costs down for their customers and simplify their service options,” said Glenn Derene, Electronics Editor for Consumer Reports, in the survey overview.

The ratings are based on 63,352 wireless subscribers and was conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. The survey was taken in October.

On Wednesday, third-party survey firm RootMetrics rated AT&T No. 1 in the Raleigh area for quality of service based on factors such as speed, data and text reliability. Verizon placed second after topping a survey earlier this year.

Consumer Reports said smaller providers such as Republic  ”have excellent satisfaction ratings because they’re designing innovative strategies to keep plan costs down for their customers and simplify their service options.”

Ting also uses Sprint’s network.

Consumer Cellular utilizes AT&T’s network. 

TracFone led the prepaid carrier ratings in the previous survey. It received an 80 score in the new results.

In summing up the four big carriers, Cosnumer Reports noted:

“Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T are essentially tied in overall satisfaction – a departure from the past couple years when Verizon held a clear lead.

“Verizon still stood out with high marks across the board for voice, text, web, and 4G reliability, but T-Mobile received the highest mark of the group for value, as well as for resolving issues promptly and customer service staff knowledge.

“AT&T earned the top mark for 4G reliability …

“Sprint received the lowest overall reader score of any carrier in the survey for the second consecutive year.”

Verizon and T-Mobile received a score of 69; AT&T a 66; and Sprint a 59.