Price hikes hit broadband in the UK
More than half of UK households (64%) are concerned about annual broadband price increases, new data from professional services firm EY shows.
The survey of 2,000 UK consumers, which reviews attitudes towards technology, media, and telecoms (TMT) found that the majority of consumers think price increases are unfair and unreasonable (66%) and are difficult to understand (48%).
With consumers continuing to scrutinise their spending on connectivity and content, geopolitical sensitivities are prompting some households to question their supplier choices. This is most apparent in attitudes to onshore customer service staff.
Just over a quarter (28%) of households say they will prioritise connectivity providers with customer agents based in their own country, a figure that rises to 33% for respondents aged 25-34 years old. Meanwhile, one in five respondents says they’ll prioritise technology manufacturers (19%) and content producers (20%) based in their home countries, where possible.
“Consumer anxiety over pricing continues to persist, and fast-moving geopolitical dynamics are increasingly shaping how households think about the providers they rely on. While perceptions of value for money remain broadly stable, earning a greater share of wallet now extends far beyond competitive pricing alone – it hinges on trust, resilience, and the ability to deliver seamless, reliable experiences,” said Adrian Baschnonga, EY Global Telecommunications Lead Analyst.
“Providers must emphasise the strength of their core services while exploring carefully targeted opportunities to diversify, ensuring that innovation does not come at the expense of customer or data protection. At the same time, every stakeholder interaction needs to reflect a heightened geopolitical awareness, recognising that the ground is shifting quickly and that organisations must adapt with equal agility.”
This year’s survey reveals the proportion of UK households that often suffer poor reliability remains the same at 23% year-on-year. Nevertheless, unreliable connections remain a significant challenge for certain groups. 36% of households with five or more occupants often experience reliability problems.
The findings highlight several contributing factors to poor network reliability: slower speeds in certain locations of the home (26%), ranking first, and network outages second (23%). Uneven performance, depending on user location or number of people online, is a bigger issue for 18-24 year olds (41%), while slower speeds in certain parts of the home are most likely for households with four occupants (34%) and those with five or more (37%).
“Network outages and disappointing speeds are enduring challenges for UK broadband users, particularly younger and larger households. Connectivity providers must recognize how network quality impacts every aspect of service delivery and improve their customer promises around broadband reliability,” Baschnonga said.
