In the latest issue of Consumer Reports, exactly 47,629 cell-phone users from around the country responded to a survey ranking their satisfaction with the country's major service providers. Turns out, about half of those polled think their service sucks -- which sounds charitable, y'ask me.

Online you'll find the introductory essay, which more or less sums up folks' dissatisfaction with their respective carriers. But in the print edition you'll find how services rank in major markets -- including the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In short, Verizon comes out on top locally, with a score of 71 -- which means folks were somewhere between "very satisfied" and "fairly well satisfied." AT&T gets a 68, T-Mobile merits a 67, and Sprint sprints to the low, low rating of 58, placing it at the bottom of the area's Big Four. Tin cans connected by string ranked a 93. --Robert Wilonsky

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