Some consumers make purchase decisions based on independent research. AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) needs to hope that is so. AT&T is the winner of the recently completed “J.D. Power 2013 U.S. Wireless Customer Care Full-Service Performance Study,” which in its industry is considered an important prize and chance for sell-promotion.

There is plenty of research for consumers about cars, washing machines, phones, insurance companies and retail stores. The ones most people watch are from research firms that cannot be bought off. These include J.D. Powers, Consumer Reports and the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Companies that win top honors in these studies can promote their victories, usually for the one-year cycle between when survey results are released.

AT&T spends millions of dollars promoting the superiority of its network over the ones built and operated by Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) and smaller competitors MetroPCS and T-Mobile. The way J.D. Power measures customer care satisfaction is relatively complicated. According to a description of the process:

Among customers contacting via the online channel, overall satisfaction is highest when the chat function is used (784). More than two-thirds (69%) of non-contract customers indicate they have a carrier-based account management application on their phone to track usage, review their plan and contact their carrier. Satisfaction is 93 points higher among customers with a carrier-based app than among those without one. Nearly one-fifth (17%) of full-service customers indicate that they have used YouTube to resolve a problem regarding their wireless service.

Kirk Parsons, senior director of the telecom services practice at J.D. Power, added:

The higher levels of satisfaction with online chat are partially due to the efficiency and immediacy of the experience, particularly with service issues or questions that are easier to resolve in this environment, such as billing or service/device questions pertaining to upgrades. However, as carriers release new products and services to meet consumer demand, such automated systems as online chat must continue to evolve to address harder-to-answer questions related to technology support, as customers gain confidence in using alternative contact channels for convenience-related reasons.

Somewhere in those explanations is evidence that people favor AT&T. In those ranks, AT&T scored 795 out of 1,000. Verizon had a score of 790, followed by Sprint at 771 and T-Mobile at 760. The results should be troubling to Spring and T-Mobile, which run well behind their two larger competitors. Bad scores make it harder to catch up in an industry in which Sprint and T-Mobile are considered losers.

AT&T will take out ads and put placards in the front windows of its stores to celebrate the victory. Whether the win will sell many new subscriptions is hard to say.

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