One carrier has had customer loyalty on lock for nearly two decades

The US carrier landscape is dominated by three major players. T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T battle it out each year to claim the title of nation's best, and although T-Mobile was in a league of its own as per Ookla's H2 2025 findings, AT&T is proving that raw speed isn't the only way to customers' hearts.

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By  Karandeep Singh Oberoi

Brand research consultancy firm Brand Keys' 2026 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index is out now, and according to it, AT&T has secured the #1 spot (via Android Authority).

The report highlighted that US wireless companies made over $352 billion in revenue in 2025 alone, highlighting that in a market where 98 percent of Americans already own a cellphone, the real victory is in keeping the customers you already have. And that's exactly what AT&T has been doing back to back for 17 years.

Yes, AT&T has secured the #1 spot in the Customer Loyalty Engagement Index for the 17th year in a row now, and that's evident from its 0.98 percent churn rate.

This comes from a market where over 89 percent of those surveyed said they can't live without their smartphone.

AT&T's success when it comes to customer retention and loyalty can be attributed to a few factors. For starters, the carrier is America's oldest phone company (founded in March 1885). It is widely available across the nation with a high reliability score. But, most importantly, the company is outspending the competition to maintain its lead.

According to MotleyFool, between 2020 and 2024, AT&T poured more than $150 billion into its network. "It's currently in the process of adding another 50 megahertz of low-and-mid-band spectrum covering roughly 400 U.S. markets from EchoStar to bolster its 5G services. This $23 billion deal is expected to close in mid-2026," reads the report.

It's worth noting that even though AT&T made it to the top when it comes to customer loyalty, Verizon and T-Mobile aren't too far behind in terms of achievements either. T-Mobile, for example, boasts an extremely low 0.93 percent churn rate, while Verizon is aggressively targeting 1 million new postpaid subscribers this year.

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