The latest report from mobile metrics firm Opensignal has indicated that bad mobile experience is the main factor why Filipino users switch mobile operators.
The report comes during an eventful period in the local mobile market. New third telco Dito Telecommunity recently claimed to have reached seven million subscribers, while the introduction of Mobile Number Portability – which allows users to retain their phone numbers when they switch networks – has made it even easier for users to change operators.
The report found that on average, Filipinos who switched their mobile operator saw a significantly worse experience before they made the switch.
“It shows that mobile network experience plays a key role in customers’ decision to leave their mobile service provider, and that operators must focus on offering a high-quality mobile experience to retain their customers,” the report said.
The report revealed that those left their network spent more time without a signal and less time connected to 4G or 5G than the average of all users on their original operator.
The study, however, said switching networks does not guarantee a better experience. “Looking at the experience of Leavers between their last days on their old network and their first days on their new one, there was no significant difference on their time spent with no signal,” it said.
Subscribers who left their operators, dubbed as “leavers” by Opensignal, spent significantly more time with no signal than the average reported for all users of Globe Telecom, Smart Communications, and Dito.
“The difference was 1.5 times more time for Globe Leavers, 1.6 times more for Dito, and 1.7 times for Smart,” the report said.
As for time spent on 4G or 5G, the report said leavers on each of the three operators spent less time connected to the network than the average across all users on their original operator.
“The difference was highest for Globe Leavers — 2.5 percentage points — followed by Dito leavers with a gap of two percentage points. Smart Leavers spent only 1.6 percentage points less time connected to 4G or 5G compared to the average calculated across all of our Smart users,” the report said.
Opensignal said it compared experience in the last 30 days on their original mobile operator’s network against their experience during the first 30 days after the switch to their new operator.
“There was no significant difference between the proportion of time Leavers from all three operators spent with no signal before or after they switched to a new network,” it said.
“However, we saw a different story with Time on 4G or 5G. Our Globe Leavers saw a 4.6-percentage point improvement after they switched to another network, and our Dito Leavers saw a 8.4-percentage point drop in their Time on 4G or 5G after they churned or switched operators. This greater difference for Dito Leavers is because our users observed the highest Time on 4G or 5G on Dito’s network and so when they switched to either Globe or Smart it’s more likely they would see a fall in this measure. Only our Smart Leavers did not see a significant change in the proportion of time they spent on 4G or 5G when churning,” it said.
Opensignal said its analysis shows that mobile network experience plays a key role in customers’ decision to leave their mobile service provider, and that operators must focus on offering a high-quality mobile experience to retain their customers.
“In addition, there are opportunities to highlight strong mobile experience in acquisition marketing to target rival operator customers that have a poor experience,” it concluded.
