How do you engage connected consumers who crave simplicity and choice?

Chapter 3

Satellite and FWA are gaining ground on legacy connectivity offerings

Consumers’ frustration with fixed broadband availability is making them more open to alternatives – creating an emerging opportunity for satellite providers.

Low earth orbit (LEO) satellite services are coming of age, with end-user spending set to reach $14.8 billion globally in 2026.⁴ Our research shows that up to one household in three is interested in satellite connectivity offers, led by mobile packages with satellite as a back-up (34%). While interest in satellite as a home broadband service is lower – with perceived high prices an obstacle – 39% of households are open to replacing fixed broadband with satellite if it could meet their household needs. This receptivity is partnered with frustration that high-speed fiber packages aren’t always available where they live. Looking ahead, satellite providers could capitalize on this latent frustration, particularly among consumers with less price sensitivity.

While telcos are collaborating with satellite companies on back-up connectivity — with 90% of telco CEOs viewing direct-to-device (D2D) satellite as a key part of the mobile value proposition — fixed broadband providers cannot overlook the potential for disruption in the residential market.

Among other alternatives to legacy technologies, fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband is already making inroads into the home connectivity market, driven principally by price savings. Yet the survey responses from FWA customers confirm that they are relatively better-informed than the average consumer and are alert to packages offering benefits beyond price. While they are prone to switching, their openness to paying “more for better” and bundling FWA with mobile paves the way for new retention and win-back strategies. Telcos that take a long-term view of FWA customer needs can move beyond “no frills” packages to provide a richer set of features and complementary services that drive better levels of loyalty and growth.

Chapter 4

More seamless service combinations can breathe new life into bundles

Combining broadband with other forms of connectivity and content remains a powerful value proposition – but customer journeys are showing signs of overload while other forms of bundles also hold appeal.

Attitudes to pay TV packages and bundles of broadband and content

As streaming platforms launch bigger bundles supported by new partnerships,⁵ connectivity providers need to take aggregation seriously if their own TV bundles are to stand out. Consumers say they want better combinations of content above all: their wish list of improvements to connectivity and content bundles are topped by a better mix of channels, live TV, and dedicated streaming apps, underlining their desire to see service providers raise their game on aggregation. At the same time, nearly four in 10 consumers call for better communication on pricing or content options. Those that can deliver these refinements must prioritize personalized experiences underpinned by smoother customer journeys to ensure they command a premium.

Chapter 5

New engagement strategies are essential for streaming customers

With cancellations on the rise, the rationale for dropping streaming services is shifting beyond pricing and toward better content selections and more attractive alternatives.

Streaming services continue to gain traction, with paid monthly subscriptions worldwide set to top 2bn by 2029, although growth rates are set to flatten.⁶ Against this backdrop, our research shows that the streaming landscape is becoming more competitive: 38% of streaming households have cancelled — or plan to cancel — at least one platform, up from 35% last year. Meanwhile, this year’s cancellation rationales are more likely to include a preference for other platforms or a lack of favored content, with cost savings – while still dominant – slightly less of a focus than before. Tellingly, demand for higher-quality content is gaining ground as a selection criterion year-on-year. While rising levels of original content investment recognize these shifting demands, service providers will need to navigate higher production costs and stakeholder scrutiny that accompany their changing strategies.

As choice in the streaming market widens, the higher frequency of sign-ups and cancellations is more than just a temporary phenomenon. Consumers have a fundamentally fluid relationship with streaming platforms: four in 10 choose to “subscribe-watch-cancel-repeat,” whether to binge-watch and pay fewer monthly charges, access a specific event or take advantage of discounted periods. As a result, over half (56%) of households say they think streaming providers should make it easier to consume content without the hassle of subscribing or cancelling. Streaming providers that respond to this evolving customer mindset – using new engagement strategies, pricing models and user interfaces – will be better positioned to elongate customer lifetimes.

Established pay-TV providers need to respond to the pervasive challenge posed by streaming platforms, who lead as preferred providers of multiple content genres that appeal to end users. The streamers also enjoy a mindshare advantage with their content recommendation capabilities. This means other service providers seeking to justify a premium will need to do much more than simply invest more heavily in original or exclusive content. And while AI can deliver benefits for all content providers around customer journeys and personalization, its role in online experiences remains a source of distrust for many consumers, underlining the importance of providing greater reassurance and accountability.

Chapter 7

Customers welcome AI assistance – but the human touch remains central

AI is altering the path to purchase with disruptive potential, yet the desire for human interactions – alongside doubts about AI’s effectiveness – hinders mass acceptance of service provider chatbots.

Consumers are warming to generative AI (GenAI) capabilities on the path to purchase, with many now saying they trust GenAI search summaries ahead of traditional web search or price comparison sites. For service providers, the use of AI necessitates a shift in marketing strategies that look beyond traditional search engine optimization (SEO) and toward generative engine optimization (GEO). This means ensuring that key benefits and value propositions are front-loaded in website copy, with customer reviews in discoverable places. Service providers that recognize and respond to consumers’ increasing familiarization with AI search summaries will be well-placed to take advantage of changing customer journeys.

However, the growing acceptance of AI on the buying journey — with its highly disruptive potential in discovery and consideration — sits in contrast to underwhelming levels of adoption of chatbots in support interactions, at time when customer care accounts for almost half of telco AI deployments.⁸ Customers’ declining reliance on call centers is not being partnered with a commensurate increase in chatbot preference, even among younger users for whom the call center still holds sway. Human assistance — including skills in understanding issues, eliciting information and solving problems — remains central to customer expectations and the trust they have in service providers. Creating a more effective blend between chatbots and human agents, including the ability to detect signs of frustration and the inclusion of full context in chatbot-to-human handoff, is now mission critical.

Next steps for service providers

Looking across our research findings, here are five actions that we believe digital home service providers should take to engage — and monetize — the connected consumer more effectively.

Double down on your value proposition and brand principles

Consumers’ anxiety over pricing is continuing to evolve, with geopolitical considerations potentially influencing their supplier choices. While value for money perceptions are holding steady, providers’ scope to command an upsell advantage depends on a range of factors, from brand trust to pricing and convenience. Take care to underline the strength of your anchor services, while exploring new opportunities to diversify your offering. At the same time, ensure that your customer and data protection attributes remain robust, and that your stakeholder interactions are sensitive to a rapidly developing geopolitical environment. 

Recalibrate your customer intimacy, understanding and empathy

This year’s results point to new customer behaviors and needs that lie beyond the reach of existing segmentation and go-to-market approaches. Revisit subscription models that prioritize customer “lock in” so that you can target consumers who are more informed, agile and restless. And take care not to confuse existing loyalty with satisfaction, tackling latent customer anxieties and clarifying the benefits of premium services. Proactive communications around new and improved service capabilities allied to more personalized customer care can unlock higher levels of spending and satisfaction that create more intentional customer loyalty.

Evolve and simplify service offerings in tandem

Ensure that your service portfolio addresses customer needs that hinge on paying “more for better” not just “more for more.” New types of bundles — whether involving combinations of different forms of connectivity, or richer content portfolios that effectively blend different formats — are important, but you cannot afford to ignore customers’ pervasive demand for simplicity. Effective aggregation should be at the forefront of service design, not only helping customers discover and access services more easily but allowing you to showcase new forms of value. You should also explore and address aspects of customer experience where partners and suppliers can help improve outcomes.

Prepare for hyper-compression of customer journeys

GenAI is already gaining traction with consumers on the path to purchase and is potentially set to supersede other modes of enquiry and discovery. With agentic assistance holding even greater potential to collapse discovery, consideration and purchase as customers become more empowered, it is vital to reimagine your proposition in new ways, and in areas well upstream from the point of sale. Take care to ensure your products and services are differentiated, visible and easily understood by AI systems, so that you can take advantage of rapid changes and shifts in the customer journey. 

Tackle the trust deficit hindering digital support experiences

While AI is playing a dynamic role in service discovery, its role within service portfolios and customer care systems is also beset by apprehension and anxiety among consumers. Prioritize effective education about the role that digital tools play in your customer interactions, understanding that human-centered support is still an overriding need for many end users. At the same time, double down on AI’s role in augmenting human skills in elicitation and problem-solving — maximizing the positive interplay between human agents and digital tools — so that your adoption of new technologies and processes addresses customer needs and expectations effectively.  

Summary

In today’s crowded and fast-developing digital home, consumers’ criteria for buying and retaining different services are continuing to change and expand at pace. To sustain and grow their share of customers’ spending, providers must stay abreast of these developments – and undertake focused action to provide the confidence and clarity that consumers are seeking in the services they choose to buy. The five steps that we’ve outlined will enable companies to do this, while also positioning themselves for future growth.