EY study: households worried about annual broadband price increases

• Thirty-seven percent of households have recently switched broadband provider or plan to do so in the next 12 months; cost savings are top rationale (41%)
• Twenty-seven percent of respondents are interested in satellite home broadband, while 34% are interested in backup connectivity via satellite as a mobile package
• For users aged under 35 years, generative AI tools rank ahead of price comparison websites when they're planning to purchase a smart home device

More than half of households globally (57%) are worried about annual broadband price increases and, crucially, the majority think these increases are unfair, unreasonable (60%) and difficult to understand (48%), according to the latest EY decoding the digital home study.

The survey examined the views of 20,500 consumers on their attitudes toward technology, media and telecoms experienced in the home, across 14 countries: Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US.

The volatile geopolitical environment may influence supplier choices in new ways

With consumers continuing to scrutinize 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. A quarter (27%) of households say they will prioritize connectivity providers with customer agents based in their own country, a figure that rises to 32% for respondents aged 66 years and above. Meanwhile, one in five respondents say they'll prioritize technology manufacturers (22%) and content producers (20%) based in their home countries, where possible.

Cédric Foray, EY Global Telecommunications Leader, says:

"Consumer anxiety over pricing continues to persist with geopolitical considerations potentially informing supplier choices. While value for money perceptions are stable, the ability to grow share of wallet depends on a range of factors - from brand trust to pricing and convenience levers. Suppliers need to take care to underline the strength of their anchor services, while exploring new opportunities to diversify their offering. At the same time, they need to ensure that customer and data protection remains robust, and it is important to sensitize stakeholder interactions to a fast-evolving geopolitical environment."

Broadband reliability in focus

This year's survey reveals a positive shift in network quality experiences, with a year-on-year increase in the number of households saying they never experience problems (16%) - compared to 14% last year - alongside a decrease in households that often suffer poor reliability, now at 24% on average, down from 26% last year. Nevertheless, unreliable connections remain a significant challenge for certain groups - 29% of 18- to 24-year-olds and 30% of households with three or more occupants still experience reliability problems.

The findings highlight several contributing factors to poor network reliability: network outages rank first (27%), with dropped connections second (26%). Uneven performance, depending on user location or number of people online is a bigger issue for larger households: slower speeds in certain parts of the home are most likely for households with four occupants (34%) and those with five or more (36%).

Adrian Baschnonga, EY Global Telecommunications Lead Analyst, says:

"Network outrages are caused by a range of factors, from power outages to extreme weather events, prompting regulators to consider new protocols for telcos to manage network outages, including appropriate customer communications. Connectivity providers must recognize how network quality impacts every aspect of service delivery and improves their customer promises around broadband reliability."

More than one-third of customers have recently switched or plan to switch

Thirty-seven percent of households have either recently switched providers, or plan to do so in the next 12 months. Cost savings are the leading rationale cited by recent or future switchers (41%), but other factors such as poor network quality, poor customer experience and limited-service portfolios account for more than half of reasons given for switching.

Those seeking savings are looking for a lower headline price (33%) but introductory offers, improved price promises and the opportunity to reduce overall connectivity expenditure by opting for fixed-mobile bundles also play a role. Among younger users, price promises (27%) and introductory offers (28%) are as important as cheaper monthly rates (29%), highlighting the importance of agile pricing strategies for broadband providers targeting price-sensitive users.

There is resistance to broadband upgrades while loyalty conceals inertia

With availability of fiber-to-the-home broadband increasing in many countries, service providers are keen to migrate users to higher-speed packages. However, households cite several reasons not to upgrade, led by lack of need for faster broadband (31%); uncertainty that faster broadband will deliver the reliability benefits they need (14%); and inability to afford the highest speed packages on the market (14%).

According to the study, some customers who remain loyal to their current provider are not entirely satisfied. Two-thirds (64%) of non-switching households are happy with their current provider, other reasons for staying include apathy, fear and frustration. One in 10 (12%) don't see any benefits in switching; 10% find the switching process too complex; and 1 in 10 (10%) fear that moving could lead to inferior connection quality or customer service.

Disruption ahead as satellite and FWA gain favor

The survey shows that 27% of respondents are interested in satellite home broadband. Satellite's perceived high costs are an important factor in stopping consumers from switching, with 43% of households believing that, compared with fixed broadband, satellite connectivity is too expensive. There is, however, greater openness to satellite connectivity as an add-on to existing mobile packages, to provide remote connectivity in rural areas: 34% signal interest for this purpose, and 31% say they are willing to pay a premium for mobile packages with direct-to-device (D2D) satellite capabilities. Younger consumers are markedly more receptive to D2D capabilities, with 46% of 18- to 24-year-olds expressing interest.

At the same time, home broadband delivered via mobile, also known as fixed wireless access (FWA), is also on the household radar: 36% of households say they would be open to dropping their fixed broadband connection if their household needs could be met by a mobile connection, with receptivity highest among 18- to 34-year-olds (45%). Across all age groups, the lower monthly cost of mobile broadband compared to fixed-line broadband is the leading trigger cited (38%).

Foray says: "This is encouraging news for mobile operators. They have been striking partnerships with satellite providers over the last year, and with enhanced mobile packages in mind, there are encouraging signs that mobile customers would be prepared to pay a premium for back-up connectivity."

Bundles remain in demand although households seek improved broadband and TV packages

For service providers looking to counter disruptive forces and reduce churn, bundling remains critical to the value proposition. Broadband bundles with TV (47%) and mobile phones (42%) are most popular - and an even higher proportion of survey respondents say they are likely to take these services in the future.

However, many households are looking for improved TV bundles - 34% cite a better mix of channels, live TV and dedicated streaming apps as the major improvement they would like to see, followed by more transparent pricing options for different content combinations (25%). Meanwhile, other forms of broadband packages have plenty of headroom for growth. For example, 9% of households currently take broadband including security and digital wellbeing features but 43% would be likely to purchase this type of package in the future.

AI assistance is welcomed, but human touch remains vital

The survey shows that customer expectations, whether related to bundle value propositions or subscription methods, are changing fast. At the same time, customer journeys are also adapting to new tools and capabilities. Generative AI (GenAI) is now an established element of service discovery: 7% of consumers say that they use AI tools as their first port of call when exploring a purchase. And for users aged under 35 years, these tools (10%) rank ahead of price comparison websites (9%) when they're planning to purchase a smart home device. Most age groups say they find AI search summaries more useful and trustworthy than traditional online searches, although users aged 55 and above still express reservations.

While consumers are using new tools to research and compare connectivity products before purchasing, they are still lukewarm about using chatbots in their interactions with broadband customer support. While attachment to call centers is fading - 47% favor them as their preferred method of contacting their service provider, down from 51% last year - the proportion who prefer chatbots stands at 12%, unchanged from last year.

The findings reveal several concerns among consumers about having to rely on chatbots or virtual assistance. A third (31%) say they prefer human interactions even if chatbots deliver responses of the same quality, 26% fear that chatbots would struggle to understand queries and 20% are concerned that chatbots provide inaccurate or irrelevant solutions.

Baschnonga says: "For service providers, the growing use of AI tools on the path to purchase has the potential to dramatically shorten customer journeys. To stay ahead, providers must adapt their marketing strategies by optimizing for conversational AI, ensuring that key benefits and value propositions are prominently featured in website copy and that customer reviews are easily accessible by AI tools. At the same time, companies need to work harder to build more customer confidence in in-house chatbots used for customer support. Creating a more effective blend between chatbots and human agents is essential, including the ability to detect signs of frustration and inclusion of full context in chatbot-to-human hand-off."

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About the study

The EY Decoding the digital home study is based on an online survey of 20,500 households in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US. It was conducted in July and August 2025, updating previous annual surveys of multiple markets.

The annual survey is designed to provide insights into changing consumer behavior and attitudes involving connectivity and content products and services. This year's findings focus on topics such as the impact of the geopolitical environment on customer attitudes and the complexion of switching and loyalty - alongside changing customer experiences, including the multifaceted role played by AI in the customer journey.

Additional insights and analysis are provided by the EY Global TMT team.