When you last checked your mobile or home internet bill, did you grab your phone or sit down at your laptop or desktop computer? A recent J.D. Power study reveals that consumers prefer accessing their accounts through apps over websites. That preference is particularly pronounced for telecom companies like mobile carriers and home internet providers (which are increasingly overlapping). According to the 2025 US Telecom Digital Experience Study, surveyed customers rated app login an average of 675 for wireless carriers and 669 for internet service providers (out of 1,000 points). Website login followed those by 38 points and 42 points, respectively. J.D. Power collected ratings from 12,082 customers of eight internet service providers and 6,753 wireless carriers. Biometric authentication played a significant role in the ratings. To access an account, there is always one or more layers of authentication required just to log in. An app uses facial or fingerprint recognition to quickly sign you in or load a passkey. Built-in tools like Apple’s Passwords app can employ biometrics to unlock and autofill saved credentials on websites, though the process isn’t as seamless. J.D. Power observed that maintenance problems and sluggish responsiveness also undermine the website login process in both segments. This accounts for carriers’ substantial investments in enhancing their apps.
