For the second year in a row, AT&T’s wireless service finds itself at the bottom of the ratings in a customer satisfaction survey by Consumer Reports. With good scores from customers on texting and data service satisfaction, Verizon Wireless was once again the highest-rated of the four major cell providers, followed closely by Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T. CR also offers these tips to cut your cell phone bill:
Don’t automatically buy from the company store:
Two-thirds of cell phones are bought at carrier stores, but Consumer
Reports has found that prices can be lower at warehouse stores and mass
merchandisers.
Consider a lower-priced carrier:
When Consumer Reports compared 100 plans to similar alternatives in 21
matchups covering the full spectrum of plans, both prepaid and standard,
Consumer Cellular came out on top. It had the best deal most often – in
more than one out of three cases. Savings usually ranged from $30-40
per month over pricier rivals such as Verizon and AT&T, though you
might find a smaller selection of the hottest smartphones with smaller
carriers such as Consumer Cellular.
Use Alternative Services:
Bypassing the carrier and using third-party services for texting and
voice calls can be a real money-saver. New apps such as Heywire and
TigerText let you send text messages for free over your data connection.
With most carriers, that means you won’t have to pay 10 cents per text
or $5 to $30 a month for limited-to-unlimited messaging plans.
Max out on Wi-Fi:
Consumers should avoid using their plan’s allotment of data by tapping
into the rising number of Wi-Fi networks that are available. Those who
own 4G phones should set them to connect only to 3G whenever possible,
such as when texting or streaming music. 
