Virgin customers are mobile's happiest - poll

Virgin has topped a customer satisfaction poll for both pre-pay and contract customers.

The JD Power and Associates mobile phone satisfaction study also found more than two-thirds of mobile phones in the UK now have a camera feature and the ability to download games and ringtones. Around two-thirds of subscribers actually now take photos and 47 per cent send photos to one another. But fewer than a quarter of users actually download ringtones.

Tesco Mobile, included in the study for the first time, came in third with pre-pay customers, while O2 was placed second for both pre-pay and contract customers.

Orange came last in the popularity stakes with pre-pay customers and second to last with contract customers, according to the survey based on 2,706 UK mobile phone customers.

An Orange spokesperson said in a statement: "Clearly, we are disappointed by the findings of the JD Power survey. However, we do not believe the result accurately reflects the value, quality and service delivered by Orange over the past 12 months."

UK mobile customer satisfaction study rankings

Pre-pay segment (based on a 1,000 point scale)
1. Virgin (724)
2. O2 (699)
3. Tesco (696)
4. Industry Average (677)
5. Vodafone (667)
6. Orange (661)
7. T-Mobile (646)

Contract segment (based on a 1,000 point scale)
1. Virgin (730)
2. O2 (683)
3. T-Mobile (679)
4. Vodafone (676)
5. Industry Average (675)
6. Orange (651)

The report found the average number of weekly calls made by contract customers has dropped from 35 in 2006 to 27 in 2007, while the average number of weekly text messages increased from 32 to 46.

With pre-pay customers, the number of calls made per week dropped from 14 in 2006 to 10 this year and text messages remained at the same weekly rate of 27.

Caspar Tearle, director of service industries research at JD Power and Associates, said one-tenth of pre-pay and more than one-fifth of contract customers intend to switch providers in the next 12 months and it's becoming even more important for providers to reward existing customers for their loyalty.

Overall satisfaction for pre-pay providers is measured based on six factors: call quality and coverage, cost, customer service, handsets, image and offerings and promotions. Billing is also included as an additional measure of customer satisfaction in the contract section.