Small businesses depend on internet reliability and, when service is interrupted, providers can mitigate the effect by proactive communication and sensitive messaging, according to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Business Internet Satisfaction Study,SM released today. For medium and large businesses, digital account management is imperative to overall satisfaction.

“Outage communication has been and will continue to be key to overall business internet satisfaction,” said Carl Lepper, senior director of technology, media and telecom at J.D. Power. “With satisfaction being lower among small businesses than that of medium or large businesses, online account management tools and customer communication is extremely important, especially when it comes to outages.”

The study shows that, among medium businesses that have access to an online account management portal, business owners who are aware of the tool and use it have higher satisfaction (715 on a 1,000-point scale) than those who are aware and do not use it (658). This highlights the importance of customer education on the online platforms.

Study Rankings

In the large enterprise segment, AT&T ranks highest for a seventh consecutive year, with a score of 732. Verizon (716) ranks second.

In the medium business segment, AT&T ranks highest for a second consecutive year, with a score of 739. Verizon (708) ranks second.

In the small business segment, Verizon ranks highest for a sixth consecutive year, with a score of 680. AT&T (636) and Frontier Business (636) each rank second in a tie.

The 2024 U.S. Business Internet Satisfaction Study, formerly known as the U.S. Business Wireline Satisfaction Study, is based on responses from 4,657 business customers of internet services. The study evaluates business internet experiences across seven factors: performance and reliability; cost of service; communications; sales representatives (medium business and large enterprise); billing; digital account management; and customer service. The large enterprise segment includes businesses with 500 or more employees; the medium business segment includes businesses with 20 to 499 employees; and the small business segment includes businesses with less than 20 employees. The study was fielded from March through May 2024.