Fixed Wireless Internet—Including 5G—Outperforms Fiber in Customer Satisfaction

Could 5G home internet be the new fiber? New consumer survey report from HighSpeedInternet.com begs the question

DRAPER, UT, Oct. 03, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HighSpeedInternet.com recently released the results of their 2023 Customer Satisfaction Survey. The annual survey asked over 7,000 consumers to rate their ISPs in categories such as speed, reliability, pricing, customer service, and overall satisfaction.

Key takeaways from the 2023 Customer Satisfaction Report:

• 94% of fixed-wireless customers—including 5G home internet users—are satisfied with their internet service.
• 96% of T-Mobile customers are happy with their prices.
• 95% of Xfinity customers are happy with their speeds.
• 44% of TV + internet bundling is down compared to 2021.
• 20% of internet customers bundle mobile + internet service.
• 5% of customers reported an increase in price hikes compared to 2022.

“Fixed-wireless internet thoroughly impressed this year, earning better overall ratings than any other internet type, even fiber,” Austin Aguirre, report author, says. “5G fixed-wireless receives its signal wirelessly from cell towers, delivering fast and reliable internet service minus the hassle of cables and lengthy installations. When packaged with good policies and pricing, these relatively new internet services offer some of the best internet deals available, and our data says the customers agree.”

HighSpeedInternet.com’s survey focused on fixed wireless as a broad category, but the extremely positive customer response has a lot to do with the rising popularity of 5G and 4G LTE home internet services provided by T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T. In the past three years, T-Mobile and Verizon have rolled out 5G home internet (a type of fixed wireless internet service that relies on 5G cellular networks) nationwide. In direct competition with much larger cable internet providers, they sought to attract new customers with low prices, promotional offers, and simple pricing structures—a formula that seems to have resonated with a growing customer base. 

5G fixed wireless customers gave the highest ratings for overall satisfaction, price, and customer service. Since the survey started in 2016, this is the first time that fiber didn’t come out on top, suggesting that a killer deal and maximum convenience are more important to customers than raw internet speed. 

Another star of this year’s report was T-Mobile, which outperformed any other ISP by far. T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet received the best ratings for overall satisfaction, price, and customer service. In fact, T-Mobile’s price satisfaction score broke a record as the highest in the history of the survey. In the few categories that T-Mobile didn’t take the top spot, it’s still a very close second—it even surpassed several renowned fiber internet providers. This is a remarkable showing for T-Mobile’s home internet service, which launched as a pilot program in April 2021 and has positioned itself as an alternative to well-established cable internet providers.

One more trend that stood out in this year’s survey was bundling. The 2022 survey named mobile and internet bundling as the year’s top-growing trend. This year, it continues to grow, while internet + TV bundling plummets. More customers are picking up mobile deals from their ISPs, as the prices and discounts tend to be pretty great. However, TV bundling is quickly dropping in popularity—perhaps because ISPs don’t offer the great TV bundling discounts they used to.

The survey methodology, as well as more findings and information, can be found in HighSpeedInternet.com’s 2023 Customer Satisfaction Report: highspeedinternet.com/resources/customer-satisfaction-survey.

About HighSpeedInternet.com: Behind HighSpeedInternet.com is a team of internet and tech nerds who love to review products and study internet trends in order to help consumers stay informed and get the most out of the internet. Their reports have been covered in Forbes, CNet, WaPo, WSJ, Tom’s Guide, and more. Check out their Press or About Us pages to learn more.

Attachments

• Internet Customer Satisfaction by Tech Type
• Overall Customer Satisfaction Ratings by Provider

CONTACT: Andrea Harvey
HighSpeedInternet.com
press@highspeedinternet.com