MSN, AOL get low customer ratings

Associated Press

NEW YORK — The world's two largest Internet service providers, AOL Time Warner Inc. and Microsoft Corp.'s MSN, came out on the bottom of a customer satisfaction survey.

The survey released yesterday of 1,640 dial-up modem users, conducted by Consumer Reports magazine, gave high marks to AT&T WorldNet, BellSouth Corp. and EarthLink Inc. for overall satisfaction.

MSN got the lowest overall rating, due to dissatisfaction with e-mail, technical support and reliability of dial-up connections, said David Heim, the Yonkers, N.Y.-based magazine's managing editor.

"If you're paying $20 for a busy signal it's not going to make you a happy camper," Heim said.

Respondents also identified AOL as unreliable in terms of quick and sustained dial-up access, Heim said.

"What seemed to matter most was being able to get on line in a hurry and stay online without being kicked off," he said.

Sixty percent of AOL users answering the survey reported an interruption in their connection during the previous month, the worst rating among all ISPs examined, Heim said. Users of AOL-owned CompuServe rated it next-worst for dropped connections, Heim said.

Conversely, just 33 percent of AT&T WorldNet and EarthLink services reported similar disconnections.

Based on a possible 100 points for perfection in all aspects of service, the rankings of providers examined by the magazine were: AT&T WorldNet, with 78 points; BellSouth, 76; EarthLink, 76; Prodigy, 73; Qwest Communications' Qwest.net, 70; AOL, 68; CompuServe, 67; and MSN, 67. The survey guidelines state differences of at least five points are considered significant.

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Consumer Reports magazine: www.consumerreports.org