In recent years, many ISPs have begun offering modems with built-in wireless routers. In any case, you may want to consider purchasing one. According to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey, ISP customers who have purchased third-party routers are "satisfied" with their home Wi-Fi experience.

ASCI regularly conducts customer surveys in the U.S. and publishes customer satisfaction scores for a variety of products and services. This is the first time, however, that the in-home Wi-Fi experience has been measured.

"For the most part, it was a no-win situation," ASCI stated.

Customers who purchased their own routers showed high satisfaction with wireless range, service reliability (presumably meaning fewer dropped connections), the speed at which the router reboots when needed, and cost.

"This is hardly unexpected. After all, the equipment is the bread and butter for these third-party companies," ASCI added.

Indeed, the model we identified as one of the best gaming routers offers a strong connection and fast speeds, among other bells and whistles. Most, like the Asus RT-AX88U, also offer more fine-grained control over settings to make it easier to tune Wi-Fi on the back end.

If there is any surprise in this survey, however, it is that customers who purchased third-party routers were satisfied with the cost. In this category, the largest gap was found between purchasing a router and using one provided by an ISP.

What makes this somewhat surprising is that some ISPs still force their customers to use modems. Customers can ditch the built-in router and use a third-party one, but the monthly rental fee for the modem remains the same.

Regardless, the survey data clearly shows that ISPs have room for improvement in this sector, and ASCI says this is what ISPs should focus on. This is especially true as more people are telecommuting and staying home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

"If there is ever a time for ISPs to invest resources in improving in-home devices, it is now," says ASCI.

Thanks, CNET