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Study finds 77% of mobile broadband users face quality issues
Slow speeds and connection problems have affected a substantial proportion of customers.
Conducted by YouGov and Acision, the study found that quality of service problems affected 77 per cent of mobile handset, smartphone, tablet, laptop and dongle users.
Although the news is likely to be disappointing for mobile broadband providers, it marks a slight improvement on the result recorded when the same research was conducted in 2010, when 84 per cent of subscribers had faced issues.
But while overall satisfaction rose slightly, the report warned that challenges to mobile broadband service delivery still exist, with 54 per cent of customers having struggled with slow speeds while 42 per cent faced connection woes.
The study also revealed consumers would be keen for carriers to provide them with information about issues that relate directly to their individual mobile broadband experience.
Real-time notifications about network congestion would be welcomed by 70 per cent of respondents, while 71 per cent were eager to be notified about large download sizes that could have a significant impact on their monthly usage allocations.
Some 72 per cent added they want the ability to delay application updates to a time when downloads are free.
Steven van Zanen, senior vice president of marketing at Acision, commented: "In order to maintain a sustainable competitive edge, operators need to evolve from a purely technology-driven approach to a more customer-centric approach and gain control of all aspects of the service.
"Operators have the opportunity to lead the market on service differentiation, transparency and accountability, by offering clarity on service quality and insight into network performance."
Despite the complaints of some customers, an increasing number of people are relying on mobile broadband to get online.
Recent research from Ofcom showed seven per cent of households use the technology as their only means of accessing the internet, up from three per cent in 2009.