Consumers would pay up to £1.65bn to access premium mobile & broadband service

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Almost three in 10 consumers surveyed by the firm said they would pay more for faster and more reliable broadband, with 17 per cent willing to pay up to an additional £10 a month, opening scope for telcos to offer a premium service to those wanting more.

Consumers also expressed interest in top of the range mobile phone contracts, with one in ten saying they would pay extra for a more reliable service. 5 per cent of respondents stated they would pay up to £10 a month extra.

Based on these figures, KPMG estimate this untapped premium market could be worth as much as £720m and £930m a year in mobile and broadband services revenues respectively.

KPMG’s research also revealed appetite from consumers for quadplay packages, which would enable them to buy fixed line, mobile phone, broadband and digital TV services from just one provider. 13 per cent of consumers said they are seriously considering this in the next six months, rising to 20 per cent amongst millennials.

However it wasn’t all good news, the study also found that a significant proportion of users had experienced problems with their broadband and mobile phone services in the last 12 months. Six out of ten people said they had had an issue with their broadband connection or speed, and 38 per cent reported a problem with their mobile service, suffering from poor signal and dropped calls.

Trust and privacy also featured in the survey. Three in 10 of those surveyed said they were kept awake at night worrying that someone might steal their identity, furthermore almost one in seven worry the government is secretly collecting their data.

Alex Holt, Head of Telecoms at KPMG UK, said: “With £1.65 billion on the table it’s time to fix service, build trust and tap into the growing and insatiable demand for digital services. The challenge is on for the industry to connect better with their customers and reap the rewards.

“However, perhaps most surprisingly, despite all the industry noise and its massive revenue generating potential, it appears quad play continues to be telcos’ best kept secret. Half of the consumers we spoke to hadn’t thought or didn’t know about the service. Telcos are failing to take advantage of this substantial opportunity and those who rectify this fastest will be in pole position to take the lion’s share of the £1.65bn.”