The report, Experience shapes mobile customer loyalty, from Ericsson ConsumerLab, the research division of Swedish telecoms firm Ericsson, is based on a survey of 15,000 consumers across 14 countries. 

It found that among smartphone users globally, two in five face more than 11 issues per week, and that video streaming glitches are becoming more common. It also revealed that mobile broadband experience was the key driver of users’ loyalty to their operator. 

This is of particular importance, according to the report, in high growth markets such as India and Brazil, where mobile broadband experience is twice as important to user loyalty than voice experience. 

The report also revealed that NPS failed to determine users’ preference for their mobile network operator, primarily because it takes no account of the changing expectations of network performance as a result of new video streaming app behaviour. 

“As new apps emerge and video usage behaviour evolves, network performance will matter more than ever and will determine how loyal smartphone users will be to their operators,” said Jasmeet Singh Sethi, senior advisor with Ericsson ConsumerLab.