Who are the users most likely to be early 5G adopters, and what do they expect 5G to do for them?
According to new data from RootMetrics, there is a subset of highly connected, mobile-dependent users who expect 5G to have a substantial and positive impact on their work productivity, personal income and business revenue. Rather than 5G for entertainment and personal use, for these users, 5G’s potential lies in more flexible work locations, reduced travel and gaining more customers.
RootMetrics surveyed smartphone users in the U.S. and U.K., with an eye on these “power users” who qualify as “wholly dependent” on mobile devices and networks. According to the test and benchmarking company, about 30% of the population are “always on” users who “expect constant connectivity for daily activities.” Within that 30%, there is a subset of 12% whom RootMetrics called “‘wholly dependent’ power users who need a mobile connection for both lifestyle and economic reasons.”
“This small but influential group of wholly dependent power users are especially attuned to network performance and the importance of connectivity,” the company said.
Those users have a number of attributes: they’re likely to be bothered by issues with data performance, they are likely to make purchasing decisions about their mobile plan — and even switch carriers — on the basis of data performance, and they’re interested in network testing and data about such performance. Three-quarters of these users who have service contracts less than a year old, switched carriers with that new contract. They’re mobile in just about every sense of the word.
For these users, network performance isn’t just about being able to stream Netflix without interruption. RootMetrics found that 71% of such power users reported that a slow mobile internet connection impacts their work productivity, and 40% of them said that slow mobile broadband causes them to lose customers, and 28% said they lose revenue if their mobile data connection is slow.
More than half of them — 52% — said that it would only take one or two network problems a month for them to start thinking about switching carriers.
RootMetrics also found that those power users are the users who are most optimistic about the impacts of 5G. A vast majority of them (more than 80%) felt that 5G will ultimately help them or their companies make make more money, gain more customers, allow more flexible work from more locations, and/or share more content on social media.
Forty-one percent agreed with the statement that their next mobile phone contract “must include 5G” and that they “will not get a phone contract without it.”
“Wholly dependent power users are tech savvy, discerning, open to change, and are helping drive the next wave of the always-on connected community. They’re ready for 5G,” RootMetrics concluded.
