Ericsson has released Towards a 5G consumer future – its Consumer and Industry Insight report, which examines the six calls to action from consumers to fulfill the ambitions of the upcoming 5G era. The action roadmap is mainly oriented for use by operators who should work to provide a solid foundation for the adoption of 5G technology. The report represents the views of 800 million smartphone users worldwide.
The report states that a wide range of 5G-enabled services will be pushed to mainstream within 3 to 4 years of the actual 5G launch. Moreover, 44 percent of smartphone users are willing to pay for 5G services. However, there should be an end to the payment of each gigabyte consumed in 5G.
Commenting on the development, Jasmeet Sethi, Senior Advisor, Ericsson Consumer & Industry Lab disclosed that the latest study report does not look at a consumer view on 5G in isolation but outlines the unmet consumer needs that must be implemented and fulfilled by service providers in their bid to integrate 5G connectivity. Sethi added that consumers are demanding changes with a special focus on real network performance.
Effortless buying experience
The overall buying experience of a mobile plan should be simplified. According to the report, nearly 6 out of 10 smartphone users are facing difficulties to choose mobile data plans since there is a considerable misalignment between what users buy and what they use. As many as 3 out of 10 users are happy with the services, adds the report.
Offer us a sense of the unlimited
Gone are days where consumers used to purchase mobile data plans based on Unlimited technology. Nowadays, consumers are not counting on unlimited data plans but they are looking for a sense of the unlimited.
The report states that peace of mind is what desired by consumers and has been the main motivator for the purchase of mobile data plans. The report also suggests operators find alternative ways to define unlimited.
Treat gigabytes as currency
The 5G consumer future – its Consumer and Industry Insight report states that gigabytes should be treated as currency. According to the report, over 31GB of unused mobile data has been left over per year, which is sufficient to make 65 hours of video calls and hear 517 hours of music streaming.
Offer us more than just data buckets
The report reveals that faster broadband speeds and fair wireless contracts are considered to be an important factor than mere data buckets, which is dominating the market. The consumers would require operators to innovate, evolve and customer data plans since the bundled video content and creative data plans play a vital role.
Give us more with 5G
Contrary to the belief that consumers are uninterested in 5G, globally the idea of 5G services appeals to 76 percent of smartphone users; 44 percent are in fact willing to pay for 5G. Consumers expect most 5G services to go mainstream within 3 to 4 years of the launch and over 50 percent expect to be using 5G-enriched services within two years of the launch.
Over a third expect 5G to offer capabilities beyond speed, network coverage, and lower prices: improvements such as better battery life and the ability to connect not only devices but also the Internet of Things. Consumers also predict an end to paying for gigabytes consumed and instead expect to pay a single fee for each 5G service or connected device.
Keep networks real for us
The mobile operators should avoid baseless and vague marketing slogans since consumer behavior has changed to a large extent. They should concentrate on real network experience with enhancing the honesty of the marketing plans. As per the report, only four percent trust operators advertisements and network performance analysis.
Ericsson prepared the Towards a 5G consumer future – its Consumer and Industry Insight report based on a survey of 14000 iPhone and Android smartphone users aged between 15 and 65.
