A newly released study found fewer wireless calling, data and texting issues in 2018 compared to last year — the third report in recent days to indicate a stronger U.S. wireless network.

J.D. Power analyzed responses from 36,320 wireless customers between January and June and issued scores to major carriers across six regions based on the rate of network quality problems per 100 connections.

Verizon scored highest in all six areas, according to the analysis. Company officials touted the most network quality awards for the 21st consecutive J.D. Power report.

“Our talented and dedicated engineers have built the nation’s best, most reliable and largest wireless 4G LTE network in the nation so you can be sure you’ll be able to use your device when and how you want,” the company wrote in an open letter.

The nation’s top carrier, however, tied with Chicago-based U.S. Cellular in the North Central region.

AT&T saw the second-highest scores in the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Southwest regions and finished third in the North Central and West regions. T-Mobile finished second in the West and Southeast, third in the Southwest and Mid-Atlantic and fourth in the North Central states.
 
Sprint showed the highest incident rate among major carriers in each region, but was tied with AT&T in the Southeast and T-Mobile in the Northeast, according to J.D. Power’s metrics.

“Network operators have taken notice of consumers’ frustration with network quality and performance,” said Ian Greenblatt, who leads the firm’s Technology, Media & Telecom practice. “Their efforts are showing up in study results — a majority of consumers are noticing an improvement in network quality.”

A report from OpenSignal last week found that increased bandwidth allowed each major U.S. carrier to bolster their average download speeds compared to previous studies, while internet testing firm Ookla said the mean mobile download speed in the U.S. increased by more than 20 percent compared to the first half of 2017.