O2 UK Delivers Worst Level of Satisfaction for Mobile Data Speed

A new online RootMetrics survey of 1000 mobile customers has found that EE and Three UK have the highest levels of satisfaction with Mobile Broadband speeds (57% and 58% respectively), while O2 is bottom. Overall 79% would be willing to pay “marginally” more for something faster and more reliable (like 5G).

The mobile analytics firm noted that O2 ranked the worst (51%) for satisfaction with mobile speed and Vodafone sat just above them on 55%. Perhaps unsurprisingly O2’s customers were also found to be the most inclined (17%) to pay £10 or more for a better service (O2 is said to have consistently ranked 4th in RootMetrics wider performance testing).

However, the survey revealed that price is currently seen to be of primary importance when choosing a carrier, with two-thirds (63%) of UK consumers describing cost as the defining factor in their decision. Reliability came in a not so distant second (53%) amongst consumers who recognised its importance in the selection process.

Kevin Hasley, Head of Product at RootMetrics, said:

“5G will flush everything out and become a ubiquitous technology for connectivity in metro areas – no more Wi-Fi. At the moment operators in the UK are involved in a bit of a cat and mouse game with each other and government about who will invest first in the infrastructure. Clearly mobile operators need to plan their capital expenditure carefully, but 5G will be a key battleground to winning subscribers in the near future and there is first mover advantage here.

People say they would pay more for better connectivity and that option is 100 percent available to them at the time of renewal, but many then make the decision on price alone. It is a false economy and people end up biting their nose to spite their face. In most areas of life we make decisions based on what we think is value for money, not just purely price motivated ones. Many among us have a tendency to be penny wise and pound foolish.”

Respondents were also presented with a number of scenarios relating to poor mobile performance and asked where they would place the blame. A common trend picked up by the report was in every scenario, except two, customers were more likely to make the carrier responsible for the fault.

The above included scenarios such as calls dropping, texts not being delivered, delays in posting a photo to social media and noticeable drops in video streaming quality. Meanwhile one scenario where consumers were less likely to blame mobile operators was calls dropping in rural locations.