Home » Italians and 5G, a great love a little disappointed: here is the Ericsson study

Italians and 5G, a great love a little disappointed: here is the Ericsson study

by admin

Italians are among the users in the world most interested in switching to 5G, but it is a love that is waning, worn down by the long waits for the development of coverage, delayed compared to expected. It is one of the evidences of the Five Ways to Better 5G study, which Ericsson presents today. The largest in the world on 5G made so far, representative of the opinions of 1.3 billion consumers and 220 million users worldwide.

Record-breaking videos and photos, in Italy traffic at the top on the cellular network

by Aldo Fontanarosa


Lights and shadows. Globally, it also emerges that those who have already activated it tend to change their habits of use, but would like to be able to benefit from more innovative services and greater indoor coverage. In short, the higher speed (gigabit) allowed by 5G is fine, but what do we do if at home it gets bad – and at home with covid-19 you are more? What if there are few services that can take advantage of that speed? There is therefore a bitter-sweet relationship between users, not only Italians, and the new network, certainly penalized by the global pandemic. “The slow rollout of 5G, the pandemic-induced financial uncertainty and the 5G disinformation campaign have impacted consumers’ intentions to switch to 5G,” the presentation reads. In fact, at the end of 2020, 27% of Italian consumers (out of a thousand respondents) expressed their willingness to switch to 5G, a decrease of 5 percentage points compared to what was recorded in 2019 (32%). Globally, however, the trend is reversed: in 2020, 2 out of 5 smartphone users (39%) expressed their intention to switch to 5G, compared to 37% in 2019. However, it must be said that in Europe, Italians are those more interested in moving to 5G.

See also  The attack on the Lazio Region, the backup that saves everything and the doubts about the ransom

Italians cautious in switching to 5G. But when? Not immediately, however. Only 12% of Italian consumers would strongly like to switch to 5G by the end of 2021, i.e. about 5 million people. Globally, the percentage rises to 21%. The reasons for our prudence are numerous. Of course, the delays in coverage weigh on, which are explained by the characteristics of our telecommunications market. Telephone operators have very low profit margins (as evidenced by recent EY and Icom studies) and also face higher network installation costs (due to regulation; a problem that the Government intends to alleviate with the PNRR). In favoring the transition from 4G to 5G, the perception of users with respect to the actual availability of 5G plays a fundamental role, according to Ericsson, in fact. Where there is a perception of greater availability of 5G, there has been a threefold increase in the adoption of this technology.

The report found that six out of ten 4G users think 5G is available less than 30% of the time, while one in three 4G users think 5G is never or almost never available. But according to Ericsson there is also a lack of knowledge. The study shows that 23% of Italian consumers interviewed, despite having a smartphone set up for 5G, still have a subscription to 4G. While 2% say they have a 5G device but actually own a 4G one. According to the study, the factors that determine this information gap on the part of consumers include: a confusion on the technical characteristics of the devices and their compatibility with 5G, also deriving from the use of very technical and unclear terminology that does not facilitate the real understanding of the characteristics of the devices; inability to distinguish between the 5 GHz of Wi-Fi and the 5G cellular network; little information on tariff plans and on how to join an offer; lack of precise information on the real availability of 5G and on services that offer added value and would represent valid reasons to switch to 5G.

See also  China Mobile releases 5G+ video color ring tones, digital smart media platform continues to grow its "friend circle" | color ring tones | China Mobile | 5G_Sina Technology

The most difficult year of smartphones. Samsung and Huawei collapse, Apple holds, Xiaomi celebrates

by Jaime D’Alessandro



How habits change. Those who use it, then, for better or worse, have some advantage. In Italy, for example, on average, 17% of Italian users who use 5G technology said they have decreased the use of Wi-Fi when at home or elsewhere. 36% of Italian 5G users have started viewing HD videos or have increased this type of activity. 18% have started using augmented reality (AR) or cloud gaming applications or increased the time they spend on these activities. Italian 5G users spend an average of 2.5 hours more per week on AR augmented reality apps and an hour more on cloud gaming, compared to 4G users. 20% of the total time spent on digital services is related to AR and VR applications. They are given in line with the global ones. The number of Italian 5G users satisfied with the performance of 5G was 13% higher than those of 4G.

However, there are also painful notes. Users complain about indoor coverage, which they consider twice as important as speed and battery consumption. Indoor coverage could be favored by the arrival of new frequencies (former television) in 2022 and perhaps by an improvement in the rules on electromagnetic emissions. Last critical point, 71% of Italians complain of a lack of services included in the 5G package and expect more innovative services. This too is in line with the expectations of global users. But in the history of the internet, the new networks have always arrived first and only after the services. 4G coverage first, after video calls and sharing photos on Instagram. We will only see in a little while what 5G will bring to our digital diet.

See also  Windows 11 will usher in its first major update this year, and the 22H2 Anniversary Update may enter RTM state in a few weeks | T Kebang

.

You may also like

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More

Privacy & Cookies Policy