Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Top takeaways
- Market overview
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- Figure 1: Total US sales and forecast home communication services and paid TV services, at current prices, 2015-25
- Impact of COVID-19 on home ISPs and bundled services
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- Figure 2: Short-, medium- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on digital services, home internet and pay TV, April 2021
- Opportunities and challenges
- “Wired, wireless, cable, fiber, satellite… I don’t care just make it fast”
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- Figure 3: Attitudes toward home internet service – Internet speeds, January 2021
- Streaming bundles more attractive than pay TV bundles
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- Figure 4: Paid TV behaviors, January 2021
- Loyalty/rewards programs are a white space for the industry to improve
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- Figure 5: Home internet satisfaction, January 2021
The Market – Key Takeaways
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- Home internet more important than ever for consumers
- Cord cutting will continue to hurt ISP revenues from pay TV
- Regulations could impact home ISPs
- Remote work has almost doubled since the pandemic
- Demand for data will only increase
Market Size and Forecast
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- Declines in paid TV spending outpaces gains in home internet spending
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- Figure 6: Total US sales and forecast of home communication services and paid TV services, at current prices, 2015-25
- Figure 7: Total US sales and forecast of home communication services and paid TV services, at current prices, 2015-25
- Impact of COVID-19 on home ISPs and bundled services
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- Figure 8: Short-, medium- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on digital services, home internet and pay TV, April 2021
- Learnings from the Great Recession
Segment Performance
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- Communication services will continue to draw more revenue
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- Figure 9: Total US sales and fan chart forecast of home communication services, at current prices, 2015-25
- Figure 10: Total US sales and forecast of home communication services, at current prices, 2015-25
- Cord cutting erodes telecom and cable revenues
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- Figure 11: Total US sales and fan chart forecast of paid TV services, at current prices, 2015-25
- Figure 12: Total US sales and forecast of paid TV services, at current prices, 2015-25
Market Factors
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- Net neutrality discussions return with Biden administration
- Efforts to narrow the digital divide could increase internet access
- Growth in remote work elevates importance of high-speed internet at home
- Fiber expansion increases reach of ultra-high-speed internet
- Household bandwidth needs will escalate beyond today’s standard data limits
- More sports programming licensed for streaming services
Companies and Brands – Key Takeaways
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- Xfinity leads with one in five households subscribing
- T-Mobile trials 5G fixed wireless service
- Marketing geared toward young adults moving out should be a good short- term strategy
Market Share
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- Xfinity grows market share to over one fifth of households
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- Figure 13: Home ISP, 2015-20
Competitive Strategies
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- More providers promoting home and mobile bundle packages
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- Figure 14: Verizon Fios customer Verizon Wireless direct mail promotion, March 2021
- Figure 15: Xfinity Internet and Mobile bundle direct mail promotion, February 2021
- Bundled streaming services becoming a staple of the industry
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- Figure 16: AT&T Fiber-fast 1 Gig Internet email promotion, February 2021
- Figure 17: Xfinity Flex direct mail promotion, March 2021
- Figure 18: Verizon Fios Home Internet online ad, December 2020
- Figure 19: Verizon Fios discovery+ direct mail promotion, March 2021
- Services need to adapt to increasing bandwidth needs
Market Opportunities
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- 5G fixed wireless poses new opportunity for underserved markets
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- Figure 20: T-Mobile Home Internet print advertisement, December 2020
- Young adults moving out from home could turn into new subscribers
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- Figure 21: Unemployment rate, by young adult age groups, January 2020-January 2021
The Consumer – Key Takeaways
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- Younger consumers exploring alternative services
- TV bundles dwindle as cord cutting continues
- Majority of consumers are satisfied with their home internet
- Larger households show more inclination to changing services
- Younger consumers show more variance in home internet usage
- Sports programming can mitigate cord cutting among younger men
- COVID-19 has elevated the importance of home internet for consumers
- Four distinct consumer segments identified based on attitudes toward home internet
The Consumer – Trend Drivers
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- Figure 22: Mintel Trend Drivers and supporting Pillars – Technology, Value and Experiences
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Home Internet Source
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- Cable remains the leading source of home internet
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- Figure 23: Home internet source, January 2021
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- Figure 24: Home internet source, July 2019 and January 2021
- Younger consumers exploring newer home broadband solutions
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- Figure 25: Home internet source, by age, January 2021
- Home internet choice boils down to cost and availability
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- Figure 26: Home internet source, by household income, January 2021
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- Figure 27: Home internet source, by area, January 2021
- Figure 28: AT&T Fixed Wireless direct mail promotion, March 2021
Bundled Services
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- Service providers losing paid TV bundlers but gaining others
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- Figure 29: Bundled services, January 2021
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- Figure 30: Bundled services, July 2019-January 2021
- Streaming bundles gaining among younger consumers
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- Figure 31: Bundled services – Paid TV and streaming services, by age, January 2021
- Mobile service bundles are becoming more prominent in the market
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- Figure 32: Bundled services – Mobile phone service and data, by age, January 2021
- Parents four times as likely to bundle home security as non-parents
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- Figure 33: Bundled services – Home security, by parental status, January 2021
- Fiber optic internet users lead mobile phone bundles
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- Figure 34: Bundled services – Mobile phone service and data, by home internet source, January 2021
Home Internet Satisfaction
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- Three in four subscribers are satisfied with their home internet provider
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- Figure 35: Overall home internet satisfaction, January 2021
- Vast majority satisfied with internet speeds – half satisfied with pricing
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- Figure 36: Home internet satisfaction, January 2021
- Internet speed, reliability and customer service drive overall satisfaction
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- Figure 37: Level of satisfaction with home internet provider – Key driver output, January 2021
- Figure 38: Level of satisfaction with home internet provider – Key driver output, January 2021
- Methodology
- Loyalty programs are an opportunity for improvement
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- Figure 39: Key drivers of satisfaction with home internet provider, January 2021
- Fiber’s leading performance leads to higher overall satisfaction
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- Figure 40: Overall home internet satisfaction, by home internet source, January 2021
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- Figure 41: Home internet satisfaction, by home internet source, January 2021
Home Internet Attitudes and Perceptions
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- Nearly a three in 10 consumers considering switching providers
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- Figure 42: Home internet behaviors, January 2021
- Wireless broadband subscribers are sensitive to total data usage
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- Figure 43: Home internet behaviors – Data usage, by home internet source, January 2021
- Larger households show more dynamic tendencies with ISPs
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- Figure 44: Home internet behaviors, by number of people in the household, January 2021
Top Home Internet Uses
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- General web browsing leads home internet usage
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- Figure 45: Top home internet uses, by rank, January 2021
- Younger consumers more varied in home internet usage
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- Figure 46: Top home internet uses, by age, January 2021
- Gamers more likely to seek faster internet
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- Figure 47: Home internet behaviors – Faster internet, by top home internet uses, January 2021
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- Figure 48: Verizon Fios direct mail promotion, November 2020
- Figure 49: Xfinity Performance Select Internet direct mail promotion, January 2021
Paid TV Behaviors
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- Paid TV continues to dwindle in age of on-demand video streaming
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- Figure 50: Paid TV behaviors, January 2021
- Younger consumers lead the shift away from paid TV
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- Figure 51: Paid TV behaviors, by age, January 2021
- Sports programming can mitigate cancellations among younger men
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- Figure 52: Paid TV behaviors, by age and gender, January 2021
Attitudes toward Home Internet Service
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- COVID-19 elevated importance of home internet for consumers
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- Figure 53: Attitudes toward home internet service – COVID-19, January 2021
- Home security has appeal among half of consumers
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- Figure 54: Attitudes toward home internet service – Home security, January 2021
- Figure 55: Attitudes toward home internet service – Home security, January 2021
- Internet speed the primary factor for ISP decision making
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- Figure 56: Attitudes toward home internet service – Internet speeds, January 2021
- Consumers are less concerned with delivery method than performance
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- Figure 57: Attitudes toward home internet service – Internet speeds, January 2021
- Figure 58: Attitudes toward home internet service – High-speed options, by area, January 2021
Consumer Segmentation – Attitudes toward Home Internet Service
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- Figure 59: Attitudes toward home internet service consumer segments, January 2021
- Home internet sources by segments
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- Figure 60: Home internet source, by consumer segments of attitudes toward home internet service, January 2021
- Upgraders (22%)
- Characteristics
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- Figure 61: Profile of Upgraders, January 2021
- Opportunities
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- Figure 62: Home internet attitudes and perceptions, by consumer segments of attitudes toward home internet service, January 2021
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- Figure 63: Bundled services – Home security, by consumer segments of attitudes toward home internet service, January 2021
- Disgruntled Customers (23%)
- Characteristics
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- Figure 64: Profile of Disgruntled Customers, January 2021
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- Figure 65: Home internet satisfaction, by consumer segments of attitudes toward home internet service, January 2021
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- Figure 66: Home internet dissatisfaction, by consumer segments of attitudes toward home internet service, January 2021
- Opportunities
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- Figure 67: Attitudes toward home internet service – High-speed options, by consumer segments of attitudes toward home internet service, January 2021
- Speed Seekers (25%)
- Characteristics
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- Figure 68: Profile of Speed Seekers, January 2021
- Opportunities
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- Figure 69: Attitudes toward home internet service – Speed vs price, by consumer segments of attitudes toward home internet service, January 2021
- Disconnectors (30%)
- Characteristics
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- Figure 70: Profile of Disconnectors, January 2021
- Opportunities
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Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Sales data
- Forecast
- Consumer survey data
- Marketing creative
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Appendix – The Market
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- Inflation adjusted tables
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- Figure 71: Total US sales and forecast of home communication services and paid TV services, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2015-25
- Figure 72: Total US sales and forecast of home communication services, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2015-25
- Figure 73: Total US sales and forecast of pay TV services, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2015-25
Appendix –Key Driver Analysis
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- Interpretation of results
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- Figure 74: Level of satisfaction with home internet provider – Key driver output, January 2021
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