Consumer Reports Ranks Iowa Incumbents Low

Consumer Reports has released the results of its 2018 survey on satisfaction with telecommunications companies. And incumbent providers in Iowa are all at the back of the pack.

When it comes to cable TV companies, Mediacom came in last out of 25 providers with a customer satisfaction rating of 57/100. And according to CR, this is not .unusual

Joining Spectrum and Optimum at the bottom of the ratings were CenturyLink, SuddenLink Communications, Atlantic Broadband, Frontier Communications, and Mediacom, a perennial last-place finisher. (emphasis added)

The news was a bit better for Mediacom in the ratings for internet providers...but not by much.  In fact, all of the large incumbent ISP's with a presence in Iowa fell toward the bottom of the rankings.

• Windstream   56   32nd (out of 33)
• Frontier           59   30th
• CenturyLink   60   29th
• Mediacom      61    28th

At the top of the Consumer Reports ratings for internet service providers?  SURPRISE...the nation's largest municipal provider!

Top-rated EPB, a municipal broadband service run as a public utility in Chattanooga, Tenn., was one of the few bright spots for internet service. It was the only company to receive a top mark for value. It also got top marks for speed and reliability.

​Of course Iowa has a sizeable quantity of municipal providers, but none are large enough to s
​show up in the CR rankings.