November 26th, 2021, Janice Fernandes
COVID highlighted just how heavily reliant consumers have become on the services provided by telecoms operators and the vital role they have in how we work, learn and play. Internet connectivity became increasingly important to us all during lockdowns, but just how satisfied are we with our domestic connections? A new YouGov survey reveals how consumers feel about their internet service at home.
We asked consumers in 17 markets across the globe whether they were satisfied or not satisfied with the customer service, internet speed and security of their at-home internet service.
Nearly six in ten consumers are satisfied with the customer service offered by their at-home internet provider (59%)
In terms of their internet provider’s customer service, Polish consumers are the most satisfied of all the markets surveyed (70%), with just 19% expressing dissatisfaction. Urban India and UAE are the other two markets at the top of this list with 68% satisfied consumers, while three in ten consumers from both countries are not satisfied with the customer service provided by their internet company.
While slightly more than half of British (58%) and American (55%) consumers are satisfied with the customer service of their at-home internet provider, they are among those with some of the lowest shares of satisfied consumers.
Consumers from urban Mexico are the most dissatisfied with their customer service (42%) and only 53% are satisfied. China is second on the list for dissatisfaction – 39% are not satisfied vs. 55% who are. The Swedes have the lowest share of satisfied consumers (52%) but the proportion of those not satisfied is comparatively lower than the other markets (24%).
Are consumers satisfied with their at-home internet speed?
As one of the main sources of communication with the outside world during lockdown, the speed of at-home internet services became increasingly important.
Slightly more than three-quarters of Danish consumers are satisfied with the speed of their at-home internet (76%), followed by Sweden (74%), GB (74%), UAE (73%), Spain (73%) and India (72%). Among these six markets, the share of net not satisfied consumers is lowest in Denmark (18%) and GB (20%), while UAE (24%) and urban Indian (24%) consumers are the most not satisfied.
Consumers in Singapore, Australia and the US find themselves in the middle of these 17 markets at 66% for consumer satisfaction. Among those who are not satisfied however, there’s a considerable difference between these three markets – Singapore (31%), Australia (27%) and the US (25%).
China has the highest share of dissatisfied customers (53%) and is the only market where people are more likely to be dissatisfied than satisfied (44%) with their internet service. Indonesia and Mexico are the other two markets where roughly two in five consumers are not satisfied with their internet speed.
Are consumers satisfied with the security offered by their at-home internet provider?
Consumers all over the world have become increasingly concerned about their data privacy with many taking various steps to keep private online.
Although the share of customers satisfied with the security of their at-home internet service (65%) is similar to those satisfied with internet speed and customer service, a lower share of global consumers are not satisfied with the security (19%) when compared with internet speed (28%) and customer service (27%).
Roughly four in five UAE consumers are satisfied with the security of their at-home internet (77%) with only 17% saying that they are not satisfied. Singapore is the only other country where more than 70% of the consumers are satisfied with the security provided (72%).
British internet providers seemingly lead the way where security is concerned as only a nominal share of its consumers are not satisfied (9%), while 69% are satisfied.
Once again, the US is among the bottom three with 61% of consumers saying they are satisfied with their internet security. However, the share of unsatisfied consumers is relatively lower than many other markets (18%). Continuing the trend, many consumers from China and Mexico don’t seem to be satisfied with any aspect of their at-home internet service as more than three in ten are not satisfied with the security provided.
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Methodology: The data is based on the interviews of adults aged 18 and over in 17 markets with sample sizes varying between 511 and 2019 for each market. All interviews were conducted online in September 2021. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples.