More than a quarter of survey respondents experience network downtime at least once a month, with more than 10% facing multiple outages.

Network testing firm Ookla (the team that run popular speed test website speedtest.net), surveyed over 1000 UK smartphone users to uncover some of the biggest frustrations they have with their phones and mobile providers.  Spam calls and texts, slow websites and network outages are the big ones.

Whilst it is a relatively small sample of users, many people will no doubt have felt the same pain points.  27% of those surveyed said they experience a network outage at least once a month. 81% of those are thinking about switching mobile providers because of the issue.

Outside of outages, over 25% of UK respondents said they were considering switching mobile providers in the next 12 months, with 54% doing so for cost savings.

“As network outages and cost concerns mount, UK smartphone users are more inclined to consider switching providers,” said Luke Kehoe, industry analyst at Ookla. “Mobile operators in the UK need to differentiate themselves by addressing these pain points to better serve their customers and reduce churn.”

Of course, a network outage can be defined in many ways, but customers don’t really care about the official definition – if the service is not available, whether due to a full network outage or just a temporary loss of service due to location, it’s a problem. And whilst downtime with any technology is inevitable, it’s how often this occurs and how well the mobile provider handles the issue that can determine how ‘big’ a problem it is for customers and whether they decide to switch to another provider.

Main frustrations mobile users have with their mobile provider

• 81% of respondents are unhappy with their provider’s handling of an outage consider switching
• 89% of respondents view timely communication about network issues as important or very important
• 56% switch over to WiFi when possible to save their data allowance
• 34% find their connection is slower indoors compared to outside
• 20% of respondents have switched mobile provider in the last 12 months
  • With 41% of switchers doing so because of cost
• 45% of respondents are likely, somewhat likely or very likely to switch mobile providers in the next 12 months
  • With 54% wanting to do so because of cost
• 47% of respondents cite network coverage and cost as the top 2 features they like about their provider

If you’re thinking of switching mobile providers, you can compare current SIM only deals with our handy comparison tool.

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