October 31, 2019
Providers face unprecedented opportunity for subscriber growth and churn reduction
Escalent, a top human behavior and analytics firm, today published a study outlining consumer awareness of and interest in forthcoming 5G bandwidth technology and product offerings. Success with 5G: Why Consumer Education Is Key provides telecom companies with a road map for reducing churn and attracting new customers through consumer education and effective deployment of 5G products.
“The telecom industry has a lot of work to do to prepare customers for the fundamental shift in the services they will have at their fingertips,” said Jeffrey Johnson, senior director of Escalent’s telecom division. “However, when customers understand the benefits of 5G, they’re much more likely to switch providers just for those services. This presents an unprecedented growth opportunity for those companies who effectively implement 5G ahead of the curve.”
The study also found interest among consumers for the next phase of cord-cutting—forgoing the traditional cable internet package for one based on in-home 5G broadband. Consumers of wireless, internet, television and streaming providers found similar rates of likelihood to switch for access to 5G services.
Findings outlined within the study include:
- Only 28% of consumers consider themselves moderately or extremely familiar with 5G technology.
- Despite demonstrable benefits, only 25% of consumers believe that 5G will offer substantial improvements over existing 4G LTE with regard to their own wireless data experience.
- Upon learning of the benefits of 5G:
- 48% of consumers said they would likely pay a premium for 5G service.
- 46% of consumers said they would pay more for a 5G-enabled phone.
- 44% of consumers said they would “probably or definitely” upgrade their smartphone sooner if their wireless provider offered a 5G-enabled phone.
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About the Study
Escalent interviewed a national sample of 1,022 consumers aged 18 and older from March 11 to 22, 2019. Respondents were recruited from the Full Circle panel of US adults and interviewed online. The data were weighted by age, gender and census region to match the demographics of the US population. Due to its opt-in nature, this online panel (like most others) does not yield a random probability sample of the target population. As such, it is not possible to compute a margin of error or to statistically quantify the accuracy of projections. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.