A study released by AdaptiveMobile today has some implications for mobile payments, especially the wireless carriers looking to get into the mobile payment space.

AdaptiveMobile's survey finds that data security is more important to U.S. cellphone users than call quality. According to the survey, 68 percent of respondents said keeping their data safe is the most important role for a wireless carrier versus 52 percent who said service quality and reliability are a carrier's most important job.

“Subscribers view the carrier as the safety net in this increasingly complex mobile environment," said AdaptiveMobile CEO Brian Collins in a statement.

For mobile payment initiative Isis – the joint venture between AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile – and Google Wallet partner Sprint, the important message of the study is that consumers see the security of their device as the job of the carriers. Considering that recent surveys have shown consumers feel security is the biggest obstacle to adopting mobile payments, that's a big job. 

If the survey is any indication, there's good reason for consumers to be worried about data security. The survey said that more than half (52 percent) of respondents reported experiencing a mobile threat over the past year. Additionally, 1 in 3 of smartphone users said they had received mobile spam and 1 in 7 said they had received SMS text phishing, the report said.

The report says a large percentage of consumers hold their wireless carrier responsible for a range of mobile security issues such as SMS text phishing (55 percent), spam (54 percent) and malware (46 percent).

And sadly, consumers aren't doing much to protect themselves. According to the survey, only 23 percent use any security software on their mobile devices, and three quarters admit they use the software because it's free.

But there's an upside for carriers in the report. Along with the unenviable task of protecting apparently oblivious consumers, AdaptiveMobile's survey shows the wireless operators have some credibility with subscribers. The survey says subscribers trust carriers with personal data (45 percent) more than handset manufacturers (41 percent), government (38 percent) and social networks (26 percent).

“The US carrier market currently has more loyalty and trust from its customer base than almost any other industry," said Collins, "and this survey underscores the importance of maintaining this customer confidence, especially around mobile security.”

Collins said the consequences for carriers in not protecting customers is serious.

"Those carriers that fail to see this as an opportunity to differentiate will risk losing customers," Collins said, adding, "(Customers) will leave if their data is compromised.”