Consumer NZ reveals 2024’s best and worst mobile phone providers

Jon Duffy, Consumer NZ Chief Executive, acknowledges that, while everyone's mobile phone needs are different, there are key areas where a mobile phone provider shouldn’t fall short.

“With ongoing cost-of-living pressures, value for money remains a priority. But no matter their personal needs, all customers expect reliable coverage and responsive support from their providers. This year’s top-rated providers performed well in both these areas,” said Duffy.

The mobile phone providers doing it right

Consumer’s People’s Choice award is given to businesses that meet both high satisfaction standards and regulatory compliance.¹

Despite Kogan Mobile’s high satisfaction rating, its parent company, Kogan.com, is currently under investigation by the Commerce Commission, making Kogan Mobile ineligible for Consumer's People's Choice award this year.

Duffy points to two New Zealand-owned mobile phone providers that have earned a People’s Choice award – both for successive years.

In 2024, Skinny scored 77% satisfaction in Consumer’s survey, with more than 64% of its customers reporting positively on the clarity of Skinny’s contract terms and 71% of its customers satisfied by the value for money it provides.

Additionally, Skinny also ranked highest in the areas that are important to consumers right now – customer support (56%) and billing accuracy (69%).

“We’re pleased to see Skinny has earned a People’s Choice award for the ninth year in a row – this is a high bar and a worthy achievement,” Duffy said.

2degrees is another People’s Choice winner, earning 71% satisfaction in the 2024 survey.

“2degrees performed well in our survey this year, particularly when it came to providing technical support and value for money.

“This is the third time 2degrees has earned a People’s Choice award in four years.”

Room for improvement

Fourth, fifth and sixth places in Consumer’s 2024 mobile service provider survey went to Spark, Warehouse Mobile and One NZ respectively.

Spark had average performance across the satisfaction survey but fell short when it came to value for money, scoring 47%.

“Warehouse Mobile ranked second-best in value for money, but it landed near the bottom of the pile due to below average performance across most other satisfaction measures.”

One NZ customers were the least satisfied, receiving an overall satisfaction score of 58%. Key areas that need improvement include customer support, bill accuracy and helping customers manage their data usage. In all these instances, the company scored significantly below the market average for mobile service providers.

Members can access the detailed survey results from the Best and worst mobile providers webpage.