Getting work done with technology was once only the providence of the office-based PC. Later, work spread to the home thanks to laptops, and, more recently, work-issued smartphones. Being constantly at the boss’s beck and call, thanks to the mobile carriers that power smartphones, has become a business necessity for various jobs across many industries.In this year’s deep dive into work-based smartphones, we’re ignoring the wants and needs of individual workers and instead looking at the necessities listed by the information technology (IT) pros who manage all those handsets and accounts for remote workers. Here we showcase the data on both US IT managers and their Canadian counterparts. Some of the winners may surprise you. Looking for something different? Check out our Readers’ Choice Awards to see the best non-work phones and carriers of 2024!The Top IT-Managed Mobile Carriers in the US for 2024
IT managers typically stick with the big names when it comes to mobile service, as evidenced by the fact that there are no mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) in this year’s list (or last year’s). In 2023, the battle for the top spot in this category was tight, and Verizon Wireless squeaked out the win with IT managers. But this year, things are different. While Verizon enjoys a slight increase in its ratings, T-Mobile’s gain is more substantial, going up more than half a point. That alone propels T-Mobile into the top slot this year.
It’s worth noting that Verizon’s fall to second place doesn’t come from worse scores, though. The company actually earns higher scores than it did last year—just not quite as high as T-Mobile.The same goes for third-place AT&T. It also makes gains this year (particularly for overall satisfaction), but they’re not enough to keep it from being a last choice.The Top IT-Managed Phone Brands in the US for 2024
Last year was the first time we asked IT people to rate smartphones and Samsung swept the floor with Apple, trouncing it in every category we polled.That hasn’t changed. For 2024, Samsung is on top in every category. It’s the best choice for IT people deploying smartphones, period.
Apple and Samsung are the only two vendors eligible for our results this year. While Apple typically dominates many categories in our US-based surveys, it’s interesting to see it come in so far behind Samsung this time. The iPhone’s scores are sometimes a full point behind Samsung on cost/value, repairs, and likelihood to recommend. The closest they come to a tie is for ease of use.Mobile IT Preferences in CanadaThis is our second year asking Canadian IT managers to weigh in on their mobile preferences, and while the US and Canada share many similarities, it turns out mobile preferences aren’t one of them.In some cases it’s unavoidable. Mobile carriers are not shared across Canada and the US (even if they do kindly offer roaming capabilities in many cases). For example, T-Mobile simply isn’t an option up north. In other cases, the reason for the difference in preferences isn’t quite as clear. Canadian IT managers overwhelmingly prefer iPhones over any other brand.The Top IT-Managed Mobile Carriers in Canada for 2024
Last year we saw a few more players make the cut for our IT-managed mobile carriers. This year, two MVNOs (Koodo and Fido) drop out. However, the big three carriers (Bell, Rogers, and Telus) remain, along with Freedom Mobile, the country’s fourth-largest. These are all names we expect IT managers to consider, especially given that Canadian network operators own their tower infrastructure.Last year, the award went to Telus Mobility, the mobile carrier arm of the Telus conglomerate. It also is a major broadband ISP and operates/supports numerous MVNOs such as Public Mobile and this year’s Readers’ Choice winner, Koodo Mobile.It was a narrow win, but this year Telus extends the gap, increasing its score for overall satisfaction while its competitors’ scores drop. It puts the carrier on the pedestal for a Business Choice win. Bell and Rogers simply don’t resonate as well with today’s IT managers.
Telus Mobility’s likelihood of being recommended stays the same this year, while the rest of the pack decreases (Rogers went up slightly, but not enough to compete with Telus).
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The standout dip is Freedom, whose major scores fall below 6.0 (out of 10) this year. This comes after Freedom was sold to a new owner, Québecor, after our survey ran last year. The Top IT-Managed Phone Brands for Canada for 2024
Like last year, only three vendors make the cut for the list of phone options this year. Last year, Apple and Samsung tied for overall satisfaction, but Apple won overall thanks to a string of high scores in other categories.This year for Canada’s IT-managed smartphones, it’s déjà vu all over again. While Apple and Samsung are neck-and-neck (with slightly reduced scores this time for overall satisfaction), Apple has the edge across more sub-categories including setup, ease of use, tech support, and likelihood to recommend. That is enough for Apple to earn its second IT-managed phone award in Canada.
Apple lags behind Samsung in a couple of categories, though, like price and reliability, but only slightly. The two have a tie score when it comes to repairs.Google is the only other vendor with enough of a response to make the cut here, but it doesn’t stand out in any way, earning the lowest numbers in every category we poll.Full Results
The PCMag Business Choice surveys for Phones and Mobile Carriers were in the field from Feb. 20 to March 11, 2024. For more information on how we conduct surveys, read the survey methodology.
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