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EY Survey Claims UK Homes Prepared to Swap from Fixed Broadband to 5G

Wednesday, Nov 13th, 2024 (12:00 am) - Score 1,240
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EY has today published their annual digital home survey of 2,500 UK consumers, which among other things reveals that the cost-of-living crisis has prompted 34% to consider “more economical broadband options” and 5G mobile is increasingly becoming a substitute for traditional home broadband (33% of households are prepared to switch to this, up from 29% in 2023).

The ‘Decoding the digital home study 2024‘ study, which also covers various other areas (e.g. TV/video streaming), finds that performance continues to be a key driver in broadband purchasing decisions. But the reliability of networks, particularly in urban areas, remains a significant concern for consumers, with 23% of household respondents still experiencing “unreliable home internet“, despite ongoing network upgrades.

However, it should be stressed that “unreliable home internet” can be caused by all sorts of issues, which may not necessarily be the fault of your broadband provider (e.g. local router problems, weak or congested WiFi). But these days many consumers now have an option of different networks and so, even if the underlying network or ISP is at fault, then solutions might sometimes be found by switching provider.

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EY-Unreliable-Internet-stats-2024

Consumers who do go looking for a new ISP tend to put the need for a broadband speed guarantee (54%) and Wi-Fi home coverage guarantee (46%) as one of their top three considerations, which helps to show why so many providers have introduced similar features over the past few years.

Which of the following service elements of a broadband package would be your top three considerations?

Broadband speed guarantee 54%

Wi-Fi home coverage guarantee 46%

Quality of Wi-Fi router or home hub 38%

Transparent pricing or price promise 35%

Quality of technical support 26%

Ability to customise package 19%

Privacy, security and wellbeing features 18%

Availability of premium content 16%

Availability of back up line in the event of network outages 16%

Range of digital customer support options 8%

Ethically sourced and sustainable equipment 8%

However, as ISPs look to increase the penetration of connectivity and content inside the home, some inhibitors still stand in the way. For example, broadband was found to suffer from poor perceptions of added value around improved speed, with half of households believing higher speeds don’t merit paying more, while a similar proportion query performance promises.

Rob Atkinson, EY UK & Ireland Managing Partner for Technology, Media and Telecoms, said:

“In a landscape where people are closely monitoring their finances, our latest findings reveal a complex picture of consumer behaviour in the UK. Despite a tangible anxiety over the escalating costs of digital services, there is a pivot towards premium offerings.

The year-on-year increase in the pursuit of premium streaming offerings, especially among those in their mid-thirties to mid-forties, highlights a sophisticated consumer base that values not just price, but the richness and convenience of their digital lifestyle.

Simultaneously, the broadband market is witnessing a demographic shift, with younger users leading provider switches. Providers must simplify the switching process and communicate value effectively; particularly as older demographics prioritise network quality and pricing transparency. This nuanced consumer behaviour underscores the need for tailored engagement and service assurance to maintain and grow customer bases in a cost-conscious era.”

The full survey is worth a read and offers some interesting context on the wider market for digital services in the home.

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Mark-Jackson
By Mark Jackson
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and .
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10 Responses

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  1. Avatar photo Martyn says:

    I’m certainly looking to do that IF and WHEN 5G ever arrives here.
    A friend had Vermin media, after 25yrs of regular payments they offered him a dreadful 100mb deal, he left, took 3uk 5G and has been with them for 5yrs getting around 700mb D/L
    As he was already a customer his broadband came at a discounted rate so happy days.

  2. Avatar photo james smith says:

    I’ve been using 5g as a home solution for a few years now.
    The only issue I have is that there are laws about net neutrality, meaning every device is equal. As I understand it this means that you should be free to use a phone sim in a router and attach a landline phone to make calls. Three say no you can’t do that, and they are not even upfront and truthfull about it. They just fib and blame the customer when three simply block phone calls at their end.

    As far as prices go, I save money compared to fixed line because I don’t pay for needless fluff and frills and provide my own device.
    Providers should offer the basic connection at a basic price, with the option to have discounted streaming services if the customer wants to pay the extra

    1. Avatar photo Frank says:

      Switch to Smarty, same network as 3, costs less and they don’t care if you put a standard SIM in a router and connect a phone to it. I bought a 5g router with a phone connection and plugged in my old dect phone. I’m on the edge of the 5g signal so i put an aerial on the wall outside, cost me about £300 to set it all up. I’m getting unlimited data (genuinly no limits on Smarty, they tell you it’s OK to put it on a router), calls and texts for £16.20 a month (standard price is £20, but watch for the offers), no contract, no April price hike, achieving speeds up to 200mbs.

    2. Avatar photo Steve says:

      I’ve registered a complaint with the ASA and Ofcom around net neutrality (see two posts Post in thread ‘Using O2 for mobile broadband’ https://www.ispreview.co.uk/talk/threads/using-o2-for-mobile-broadband.42538/post-394215), I’m hoping to use this as a test case as Three for example have no fair use policy on data and no tethering.

      I’ve installed an LTE router for someone on O2 who has no other viable mobile service and only FTTC which achieves 20mbps. On O2 they achieve 50mbps and we used Scancom business SIM that doesn’t specify tethering limit (but does have the 600gb fup). The arbitrary 12 devices is quickly achieved with a small family home, throw in smart speakers and an online thermostat there you go. Three prove there’s no need for these arbitrary limits and only removed them following Ofcom intervention so I’m hoping this complaint will put O2 under the spotlight.

  3. Avatar photo Michael V says:

    I had Three 4G broadband when I had my own home up until start of 2020 in the small village I lived in. The hub didn’t support LTE-A, just regular LTE but speeds were consistent at 50-80 Mbps download with my smart home connected.
    When the 4G/5G mast at the end of my street where I am now finally gets switched on I would definitely consider it. It’s definitely cheaper but speeds can vary a lot at times. That’s always something to consider.

  4. Avatar photo Joe Allan says:

    Course they will – very few want a gig – 30 is manageable, 50 is better, 100 is plenty.

  5. Avatar photo Steve Bissell says:

    I am not expect fibre until 2028 apparently
    However my son csn get 5g at my home on his phone good signal
    3 will.not discuss with me because the map shows me outside the coverage area
    I brick wall potentially.

    Steve in durhsm

  6. Avatar photo Al says:

    I have Virgin on the 1gig broadband. But need to save drastically on costs. Got a smarty sim with unlimited data, got a 5g router from CEX, and its amazing. Got several Sky stream boxes set up and runs perfectly over it. Once virgin contract ends, its being dumped and switching my wireless mesh over to the smarty router. Big saving even with sky stream.

  7. Avatar photo james smith says:

    ref Steve says:I’ve registered a complaint with the ASA and Ofcom around net neutrality (see two posts Post in thread ‘Using O2 for mobile broadband’
    I’m truly sirprised
    I have a 4g mobile router with an rj-11 phone attached
    That I understand O2 know that phone and sms is my priority and I use some data but seem to be happy about it

    I’d be interested to know how the complaint went.
    I use Three-5g for my broadbant because Three don’t believe in net neutrality, and the Ombudsman did not give a ‘cough’

  8. Avatar photo james smith says:

    Frank I’m interested. I tried to move to smarty but they had an obcession with security and privacy, so would not provide the customer service that they where being paid for, in the end I just returned the unactivated sim card for a complete refund, a gret result on their part

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