This Was The Only Phone Carrier To Get A Low Cellular Reception Rating From Consumer Reports

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Optimum, the long-running telecom brand, has been rated as the worst for cellular reception in the U.S. Originally known as CableVision from 1973 to 1996, Optimum provides TV, phone, and internet packages. However, in a recent survey from Consumer Reports, the company was found to provide the worst cellular reception rating out of every other company. The survey had 123,670 submissions, finding Optimum to be the worst overall carrier. Previously, this went to AT&T.

In its breakdown, Optimum scored poorly across the board. Both value and data are ranked the same as reception, which is a little odd, as Optimum uses T-Mobile’s network to provide its service. For reference, T-Mobile is ranked higher in cellular reception, as well as overall higher compared to Optimum. According to Optimum’s website and Navi, an independent coverage tracker, signal in major locations is just fine. There’s no simple explanation outside of heavy traffic coming through the network, as there are nearly 60 different networks leveraging T-Mobile’s infrastructure across the U.S.

This said, the online reactions from consumer review sites like TrustPilot and forums like Reddit seem to confirm its ranking. On TrustPilot, all major network providers are rated poorly, with Optimum finding close friends with Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile itself. The same kind of response has been fired at its internet service as well, with some claiming its one of the worst internet providers in the US. 

Over on TrustPilot, of the 1,791 reviews, 94% are rated one star. That’s a total of 1,683 poorly rated reviews, bringing the overall average to 1.1. Filtering these with keywords like “signal” and “reception” highlights years of issues by various users, with the most recent one complaining in February 2026. Most reviews are about home broadband, but when it comes to phones, a July 2025 review said that the customer does “not get signal anywhere.” These responses continue, with the oldest one filtering the word “signal” dating to April, 2020. That review also claims that reception was poor when in their own home.

Looking further than TrustPilot, Reddit users also claim that there are issues with cell coverage when inside their homes, or out and about. It should be noted that there’s some confusion over cell service in the home and only connecting to Wi-Fi. Most phones these days can leverage the Wi-Fi network to make a call, but it varies by device.

Optimum is clearly a phone carrier to avoid. The throughline, however, is that the company itself is not helpful, despite being present on Reddit and TrustPilot. It can be difficult to place the blame entirely at Optimum’s feet for its poor cell reception, as at the end of the day, it’s piggybacking off of T-Mobile’s infrastructure. If that’s not available or poorly implemented in the area, it will impact Optimum phones.