Juniper Research: Gen-Zs Are Shaping the Future of the UK Telecoms Market

BASINGSTOKE, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Juniper Research, the foremost experts in telecommunications markets, has revealed a clear generational divide in the willingness of UK subscribers to adopt mobile operator value-added services, including music and video streaming, and home broadband. According to a survey of over 3,000 subscribers, the willingness to adopt these services varies significantly by age group:

1. 16-29 years: 45%
2. 30-45 years: 39%
3. 46-59 years: 25%
4. 60+ years: 13%

The survey results highlight that subscribers between the ages of 16 and 29 are almost twice as willing to adopt additional services, compared to subscribers between the ages of 46 and 59. As the age of smartphone usage continues to reduce, Juniper Research identifies that there will be significant opportunities for operators to grow their average spend per user.

An extract from the report, UK Mobile Operator Consumer Satisfaction Survey 2024, is now available as a free download.

Bundling Services Key to Competitive Differentiation

However, as operators struggle to differentiate their core connectivity solutions, such as 5G subscriptions to UK consumers, Juniper Research has identified that just offering additional services will not suffice in encouraging subscriber adoption, as operators must ensure that customer awareness is maximised. Operators must invest in communications strategies such as social media engagement and in-app messaging to educate their subscribers about additional services on offer.

Research author Elisha Sudlow-Poole added: “To maximise return on investment, operators must focus on increasing the average spend per user, rather than on user acquisition, due to higher onboarding costs. By bundling in demand services such as music and video streaming, and additional data services into a single monthly phone bill, operators will increase subscriber spend. Advertising this bundling via loyalty schemes, exclusive deals, and personalised offers will be key to uptake."

About the Research Suite

The study surveyed 3,300 mobile subscribers across the UK; assessing their experiences with eight leading UK mobile operators. All calculations were performed at a 95% confidence interval. This report and accompanying Excel contains the full analysis, and over 16,600 market statistics.

Juniper Research has, for two decades, provided market intelligence and advisory services to the global telecommunications sector, and is retained by many of the world’s leading network operators and communications platforms.