Raleigh ranks No. 10 in wireless service study; Durham 82nd, Fayetteville 45th

A new survey from research firm Root Metrics shows Raleigh ranks No. 10 for overall wireless service among the nation’s top 125 major metro areas. Durham, however, ranks well down the list at 82nd.

Fayetteville comes in at No. 45 with Charlotte 32nd.

Wireless service is increasingly important as a means of conducting business, not just for conversation and entertainment. So just how well providers are delivering reliable, fast service is big business.

As Root Metrics notes:

“From this perspective, good mobile service is part of a city’s basic infrastructure. Just as good roads to drive on and reliable water service are part of the fabric of any metro area, mobile network coverage has become a fundamental element of successful cities. So while you might not initially think of good network service as part of a civic pride campaign, maybe it’s time that changes.”

Metro coverage was surveyed for:

Overall Performance
Network Speed
Network Reliability
Data Performance
Call Performance
Text Performance

As WTW has reported about previous Root Metrics surveys, wireless competition is fierce in Raleigh and also across the state among AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile.

If one considers a city’s rank being higher than its population rank – punching above its weight, so to speak, Raleigh does pretty well. The survey shows that carriers don’t necessarily provide the best service in the largest cities as exemplified by Raleigh – and Fayetteville.

The overall service score on 97.9 out of 100 possible puts Raleigh in a tie along side Lansing, Mi. and Birmingham, Ala. Only Port St. Lucie, Fla, was smaller than any of the 10th-place finishers among the top cities rated in a variety of surveys (called RootScore reports) conducted in the first six months of the year.

Atlanta topped the list with a score of 98.4 followed by: