More than three in five mobile broadband users are ready and willing to pay for a higher quality of experience (QoE), a new research commissioned by Comptel shows. Of those who are willing to pay, 74% said a bigger bill is alright even if just for faster download speeds.
Of all respondents, 61% said they want their operators to offer bespoke service and price plans that are based on their individual broadband consumption habits. They also want these plans to be simpler, with more than four in five respondents preferring just one bill or data plan that covers all of their broadband access needs.
The study, conducted by Vanson Bourne, polled 2,000 consumers from across the UK, France, Germany and the US on their mobile broadband usage and their satisfaction with operators’ service plans.
Comptel SVP Arnhild Schia said 87% of consumers see QoE as the driver that will influence their allegiance to their service providers, and the majority of them would not only move but also pay more money for faster and personalized services.
"Policy and charging control can help providers optimize QoE -- smoothing data usage more evenly across their networks while dynamically adapting and simplifying service bundles based on individual customers' wants or needs, and introducing progressive pricing strategies that monetize this consumer demand," Schia said.
The research also found that two-thirds of the consumers are accessing the internet most frequently from smartphones. There is also a clear trend towards multiple broadband connections, with 58% already having two or more broadband connections.
Finally, consistency in terms of quality of service, more flexible service and price options and unlimited data download plans are bigger issues in the UK, France and Germany, respectively, than anywhere else.