Clearly satellite companies are gaining momentum in the market, ... as indicated by our studies over the past four years.

Looking at past data and previous mergers, typically you do find an increase in customer satisfaction. That's because what's happened is we're seeing artificial results for satisfaction based on an event, as opposed to real life experiences due to normal operations.

As more wireless companies encourage customers to try new services, it's becomes more difficult for the customer service representatives to be fully trained and kept apprised on the latest products being introduced. The downside is the carrier runs the risk of decreasing customer satisfaction and losing customers to other carriers. Since future switching levels are three times as high among customers who need to re-contact the carrier two or more times to get the inquiry resolved, the challenge for wireless providers is to provide contact channels that can offer an informative and efficient experience for their customers.

They're out there selling the product, saying 'Here's the latest handset,' and pushing the latest services, and when you do that, you raise expectations. Customers expect it to be simple, which, technically, wireless isn't. Wireless is a very technical application and technology. It's not an exact science. It really takes a lot to deliver that call. But the industry hasn't done a very good job of explaining that side of the story.

A key driver of the accelerated rollout of digital services among cable TV providers, ... is to counteract increasing competition from satellite providers and to protect their most valued customers from switching. The flip side of this drive is a pro-active strategy.

Intuitively, you would think service should be improving over time, and there's some indication that it is. But, relative to what customers expect, service hasn't been keeping up with their expectations.