· Consumers
outline six calls to action for telecom operators regarding mobile broadband
offerings now and in a 5G future
· Consumers
predict majority of 5G-enriched services will go mainstream within three to
four years of 5G launch
· 44
percent of smartphone users worldwide are willing to pay for 5G-enabled
services, but consumers envision an end to paying for each gigabyte consumed in
a 5G future
What will it take for operators to gain consumers’
trust as they gear up for a 5G future?
Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) today presented Towards
a 5G consumer future – its Consumer and Industry Insight report that
discusses the six calls to action from consumers that operators need to act
upon to provide a foundation for adoption of 5G technology.
The report, the biggest 5G consumer
expectation study to date, represents the views of 800 million smartphone users
worldwide.
Jasmeet Sethi, Senior Advisor, Ericsson Consumer & Industry Lab,
says: “Our latest study does not look at a consumer view on 5G in isolation,
but rather uncovers unmet consumer needs that must be fulfilled by operators on
the way to 5G. From offering an effortless buying experience to focusing on
real network performance, consumers are demanding changes they would like to
see already made today.”
Here Are The Six Consumer Calls
To Action:
Provide Us With Effortless Buying Experience
Consumers perceive the telecom market to be too complex. With six in 10
smartphone users grappling with the complexity of mobile data plans, there is
considerable misalignment between what users buy and what they use. With only
three in 10 smartphone users satisfied with the way their operator presents
plans online, the digital telecom experience is neither simple nor effortless.
Offer Us A Sense
Of The Unlimited
Consumers aren’t counting on
unlimited data plans, but they are looking for a sense of the unlimited. Peace
of mind rather than actual use is the main motivator behind buying unlimited
data plans and operators are urged to explore alternative ways to offer this
feeling of freedom.
Treat Gigabytes As Currency
The average smartphone user has 31 gigabytes of unused mobile data left
over per year, enough to make 65 hours of video calls, spend 517 hours
streaming music, or binge-watch six seasons of a TV show like Game of Thrones,
equating to as much as 1.5 terabytes over their lifetime. Two in five consumers
would like to use this excess as currency and expect to be able to save, trade
or gift unused data.
Offer Us More Than Just Data Buckets
Faster broadband speeds and fair wireless contracts are considered more
important than the data buckets that currently dominate the market. As bundled
video content and innovative data plans play an increasingly important role in
the choice of operator and service bundle, consumers want operators to
innovate, evolve and personalize data plans.
Give us more with 5G
Contrary to the belief that consumers are uninterested
in 5G, globally the idea of 5G services appeals to 76 percent of smartphone
users; 44 percent are in fact willing to pay for 5G. Consumers expect most 5G
services to go mainstream within 3 to 4 years of the launch and over 50 percent
expect to be using 5G-enriched services within
two years of the launch.
Over a third expect 5G to offer capabilities beyond
speed, network coverage and lower prices: improvements such as better battery
life and the ability to connect not only devices but also the Internet of
Things. Consumers also predict an end to paying for gigabytes consumed and
instead expect to pay a single fee for each 5G service or connected device.
Keep networks real for us
Moving towards a 5G future, consumers are calling on operators to avoid
baseless marketing slogans and instead focus on real network experience,
increasing the honesty of their marketing. The report shows that only four
percent trust operators’ own advertising and network performance statistics.
The insights in the report are based on Ericsson ConsumerLab’s global research activities of
more than 20 years, and draw on data from a survey of 14,000 iPhone and Android
smartphone users aged between 15 and 65. The views expressed in the survey are
representative of 800 million consumers across Argentina,
Brazil, China, Egypt,
Finland, France, Germany,
Indonesia, Ireland, Japan,
Mexico, South Korea, the UK
and the US.
For more detailed information, please download the
full report here.
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