A new report from Ericsson reviews the six most important aspects that consumers expect and would like from 5G.
Ericsson has presented the Towards report to 5G Consumer Future, which illustrates the six “desires” from consumers on which telecommunications operators will have to intervene to create the basis for the adoption of 5G technology. The report, which remains to date the world’s largest study on consumer expectations regarding 5G, represents the point of view of 800 million smartphone users.
1 – Simplify the buying experience
In the eyes of consumers, the telecommunications market is too complex. Six out of ten smartphone users collide with the complexity of mobile data plans and there is a noticeable misalignment between what users buy and what they actually use. The fact that only three out of ten smartphone users are satisfied with how their operator presents their online rate plans confirms that digital experience in telecommunications is not easy.
2 – Offer the perception of unlimited access
Consumers do not necessarily expect unlimited data plans, but seek the “feel” of an offer without limits. It is indeed a question of mental tranquility, rather than the actual use of available traffic, which pushes consumers more to purchase unlimited data plans and operators are invited to explore alternative ways of offering them this sense of freedom.
3 – Consider excess GBs as a currency
On average, a smartphone user has 31 GB of unused mobile data per year, enough to make 65 hours of video calls, listen to streaming music for 517 hours, or watch six seasons of a TV series like Game of Thrones in a row. Two out of five consumers would like to be able to monetize this excess traffic and expect to be able to store, exchange or donate the amount of unused data.
4 – Go beyond the simple “data packages”
Higher speeds on broadband and reasonable wireless contracts are considered more important than the data packages 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 offerings, consumers want operators to provide them with updated, evolved and customized data plans.
5 – Offer more with the 5G
Contrary to the belief that consumers are not interested in 5G, at a global level the idea of accessing its services is attractive to 76% of smartphone users and, in fact, 44% are willing to pay for it. Consumers expect most 5G services to become mainstream within 3 or 4 years of launch and over 50% expect to use services enhanced by the 5G within two years of launch.
More than a third expect the benefits of the 5G to go far beyond the speed, network coverage and lower prices, ensuring improvements such as longer battery life and the ability to connect not only devices, but to enable all effects the Internet of Things. In addition, consumers predict that they will no longer pay for the consumed GBs and expect instead to pay a single fee for each 5G service or connected device.
6 – Ensure a real network experience
As we move towards a 5G future, consumers are asking operators to avoid unfounded marketing slogans and to be more transparent by focusing on the real experience offered by the network. The report shows that only 4% trust the operators’ advertisements and their network performance statistics.
Source: News on Line
Translated by: LUBEA
Reference date: 2018-01-16
