U.S. Wireless Subscribers Increasingly Search for Faster Data Speeds

Market strategy consultancy iGR yesterday released a new market research report entitled "U.S. Consumers: Perceptions of Carriers and Services," which outlines the wireless experiences of U.S. consumers and improvements they would like to see implemented. The report based its findings off of a survey of over 1,000 wireless subscribers about their use of mobile phones and wireless technologies, with a particular focus on service providers and the wireless data and voice experience offered by those providers.

The survey found that the cost of service and voice network quality are the most commonly considered factors that come into play when consumers rate their operator. However, the quality and speed of data service is now nearly as important as the quality of voice service. Indeed, the number of U.S. consumers that consider data speed important in evaluating their wireless service grew by 29 percent from September 2012 to March 2013 to reach 32 percent.

"In this survey, iGR used a net promoter score as a way to rate the wireless service providers," said Iain Gillott, president and founder of iGR, in a statement. "Through this method, we found that there is a wide range of consumer satisfaction with providers and that consumers consider cost, voice service, and increasingly, data service when determining this score."

This isn't all that surprising considering the growth and popularity of 4G LTE wireless data in the country. In fact, worldwide 4G LTE growth is largely being driven by the U.S., Japan and South Korea, according to a recent report from Infonetics Research, another market research firm. Meanwhile, a lack of 4G coverage has hurt carriers like T-Mobile as competitors like Verizon, which boasts wide 4G coverage in the U.S., continue to scoop up customers.

According to iGR, this wireless consumer report should be useful for mobile operators in the U.S., device OEMs that serve U.S. markets, residential femtocell and home booster OEMs, and financial analysts and investors.