According to a study by Vasona Networks, smartphone users in the United Kingdom believe their mobile operators are not meeting their mobile data expectations and they are willing to go elsewhere to get the coverage they expect.
The survey found two-thirds of broadband users in the U.K. expect “good mobile data performance all of the time, with no temporary hiccups or outages” and 40% of them believe switching providers is the answer to getting better service. Those who blame their operator when apps don’t work has increased from 47% in 2014 to 53% in 2015 that is more than those who blame device makers, app vendors and OS developers combined.
The problem for operators is they are having difficulty keeping up with data usage, which 26% of users say they have increased over the past year. This is bad news for carriers because nearly one-quarter of customers say they choose their carrier based primarily on their mobile data experience, according to the survey.
“Reliable bandwidth is the currency that operators trade in today, and delivering anything less than consistently great experiences introduces competitive threats and risk of customer churn, as shown by our survey data,” said John Reister, VP of marketing and product management for Vasona Networks. “Improving mobile broadband reliability and performance are great opportunities, but operators that don’t get out in front of the pack will become vulnerable.”
But it’s not all bad news for operators. Customers are taking note of strides being made to meet growing data demands. One-third of respondents to the survey believe their mobile experience improved over the past year. Thirty-seven percent said they would recommend their operator to a friend looking for high-quality performance.
On the flip side, 42% said they see little difference between operators, which could be a golden opportunity for providers to separate themselves from the competition by finding a way to give customers a better mobile experience. Mobile browsing is one potential focal point. Sixty-three percent said “Web pages loading slowly or not at all” is their biggest complaint.
For the survey, which took place in early December, Vasona Networks asked 1,035 smartphone and mobile data users in the U.K. about their quality of experience. The company said it will address issues related to customer experience at Mobile World Congress in February in a session called “New Paradigms For Delivering Cost Effective Network QoE.”
