For the second year in a row, T-Mobile USA took the top spot in J.D. Power and Associates’ Wireless Customer Care Performance Study.

The rankings:

1. T-Mobile - 108
2. Verizon Wireless - 104
3. Nextel - 103
4. ALLTEL - 100
5. Cingular - 95
6. Sprint PCS - 93

The study covers online, telephone and in store support. Telephone support with a human operator averages the best overall experience, with online being the lowest rated.

T-Mobile USA won points for having a short hold time, 2.27 minutes or about 34% under the industry average.

The study also finds several key wireless customer care patterns:

• More than one-half (54%) of wireless users have contacted the customer service department for assistance within the past year, a slight increase from 2004 (52%).

• Among those who contact their carriers, 71 percent do so via telephone and 26 percent through the carriers’ retail stores. E-mail/Internet contacts account for only 3 percent.

• The average initial reported hold time on calls to the customer service department is 3.44 minutes, compared to just over 9 minutes before speaking to a representative at a retail store.