The survey measured Web site usability in several ways, including how willing a company is to respond to specific questions, whether a site can be trusted with users' personal data and general navigation and accessibility.
The Customer Respect Group analyzed 55 global companies in the telecommunications, wireless and cable industries, as well as -- for the first time -- Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO).
Overall, the industry scored a 5.9 out of 10 -- better than average for a range of industries and marginally better than they did in the last report on telecom sites six months ago. Traditional telecommunications and wireless companies scored consistently higher than cable companies and MVNOs, according to the report.
"Telcos, in general, have made their Web sites easier to use over the last six to 12 months, but with a caveat," said Terry Golesworthy, president of The Customer Respect Group. "They're continuing to improve for the mainstream user with broadband access. But their support for people who have dial-up or certain mobility disabilities or visual impairments like color blindness has gotten weaker. And there are quite a broad spectrum of people that fall into that category."
Wireless companies led the way in usability, while MVNOs were at the back of the pack, Golesworthy said. For example, while 78 percent of wireless companies provided good self-help options online, just 7 percent of MVNOs did so, he said.
The industry saw its best improvement -- up 30 percent -- in the area of communications, according to the survey. According to The Customer Respect Group, telecoms scored 5.9 in the area of communications, higher than the 4.9 average rating seen in a range of other industries. Although the study found that 13 percent of e-mail questions were still ignored, the quality of the responses has improved since the last report -- especially among companies in the wireless sector.
MVNOs fared worse, with that sector ignoring 25 percent of all e-mail questions and being slow to respond to those questions that were answered, according to Golesworthy. Wireless companies, in contrast, responded to almost every e-mail, with two-thirds of the companies responding within one day, he said. The best performers in that area included Verizon Wireless, CenturyTel, T-Mobile and Sprint, he said.
In the area of trust, wireless companies scored worse than traditional telecoms. Overall, 22 percent of the companies studied still market personal data to outside firms without the explicit permission of the customer, according to the survey. The industry is also most likely to reuse personal data, with 73 percent of the companies using information to market additional products. While "opt-in" options are slowly being accepted in other industries, fewer than half of the telecommunications companies offer that kind of customer control over their data.
"In terms of reuse of data, particularly in the wireless and cable industry, there's a lot more cross marketing going on," Golesworthy said. "There's less sharing with other companies but... they're trying to maximize what they can get out of their customers."
The top-scoring telecoms in the U.S. were Verizon Wireless, with a score of 8.5: CenturyTel, 8.2: T-Mobile, 7.1; Sprint, 7.0; and Qwest, with a score of 6.8.