Tom Loozen, global telecommunications leader at EY, returns to The Five Nine podcast with the latest results of EY's annual survey. The study surveys over 20,000 households across different geographies, from the U.S. to Europe, Asia, and beyond. They seek to understand consumer behaviors toward technology in the home, where the shortfalls are and the areas of opportunity for not only tech companies but CSPs and ISPs alike.
During this all-encompassing interview, Tom identifies some key issues being faced by households and how the telecommunications industry is in a prime position to address them.
First, despite the pattern of returning to in-person meetings and, for many, hybrid or in-office work, in-home connectivity remains crucial for families and communities to continue to engage with the digital economy, education, labor and even government. While this might seem like an obvious point, the alarming fact remains that a considerable number of customers still lack reliable and speedy broadband internet service.
Loozen hastens to add that the role of government, alongside the private sector, is key to bringing connectivity to everyone. There has been a lot of progress on this front over the last year in countries such as the United States, where programs like BEAD (the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program) or the 2021 bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act put a heavy emphasis on broadband.
Bundling is an opportunity ripe for the picking. With the increased fragmentation of content available to customers and a growing number of streaming platforms vying for subscriptions, end users will look for consolidation for savings. This is one large opportunity that, according to Loozen, telecommunication companies can continue to exploit for additional revenue streams, reduced churn and increased satisfaction.
Consolidation, however, can also apply to the connected home beyond streaming. There is no dominant aggregator bringing together solutions like connected doorbells, security, heating or connectivity. Much like broadband and content, the opportunity is there for ISPs or even MNOs to become a one-stop shop for customers looking to have both top-notch connectivity in their homes and an “a la carte” platform for the connected home.
The report, available here, contains further details and insights, but Tom Loozen leaves listeners with one simple thought: Focus on the customer and success will come.