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| Consumers' use of fixed telecoms services: Oftel residential survey Q7 November 2001 | |
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Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Summary findings and conclusions Chapter 3 Penetration and use of fixed telecoms in UK homes Chapter 4 Consumers’ use of fixed telecoms operators Chapter 5 Satisfaction with fixed telecoms and complaint handling Annex 1 Q7 November 2001 residential questionnaire: fixed telecoms questions Introduction 1.1 This report provides an overview of the key findings of consumer behaviour in the fixed telecoms services market, taken from the seventh wave of Oftel’s quarterly residential consumer survey conducted in November 2001. Results from previous waves are used for comparison purposes where appropriate and referred to throughout this report. 1.2 The report provides trend information on which subsequent quarterly results can be compared and examines differences between consumers with different social characteristics. 1.3 The survey was conducted for Oftel by MORI amongst 2159 (1) UK adults during November 2001, of whom 93% claimed to have a fixed line at home. The report has been prepared by Oftel (2) , based on the results provided by MORI. 1.4 This report covers:
1.5 A copy of the questions is attached in annex 1. Topics to be researched each quarter are requested by Oftel project teams and results feed into current investigations and reviews in individual market areas. Note 1 This survey was conducted amongst a representative sample of UK adults, reflecting the UK profile of sex, age, social grade, region and employment status. Data has also been weighted to ensure the sample is representative of the UK adult population. All data shown is weighted data. Unweighted base sizes are shown on charts and tables to show the number of people who were asked the question. Because the survey was conducted amongst a sample of adults, rather than the whole population, the data may be subject to a small margin of error. The error margin for this total sample of 2159 consumers is about 1-2%, but is higher amongst smaller subgroups. Note 2 The report
should not be seen as recommended best buys and should not therefore
be relied upon when making purchase decisions. Oftel has conducted its
own checks on the data in this report and whilst we consider it to be
correct, Oftel accepts no liability in respect of any of the results
provided to it by MORI or any decisions taken by any person in reliance
on the report.
Summary findings and conclusions Headline figures 93% of UK homes have a fixed line phone Proportion of homes with a fixed phone remains stable, whilst mobile takeup continues but at a slower rate 2.1 At 93%, there has been no change in the proportion of UK homes with a fixed phone. The majority of the remainder use mobiles, equating to 6% mobile-only homes in the UK, and 1% with neither fixed nor mobile phones. 75% of UK homes have both a fixed and mobile phone. 2.2 The majority (78%) of UK adults use their fixed phone at home as their main method of making and receiving calls. Satisfaction with this remains high at 97%. 17% of adults use a mobile as their main telephony service, and 91% were satisfied with this. Satisfaction was considerably lower (63%) amongst the small proportion of adults (1%) using payphones as their main calling method. 2.3 Just over one in 10 homes (11%) were using more than one supplier for their home fixed line phone service. 30% were using an alternative or additional supplier to BT. There has been little change in these figures since August. Some improvement in awareness of indirect access at a local level, although still two in five not aware of this alternative 2.4 Just over half (56%) of fixed phone customers were aware of indirect access suppliers. Fewer (40%) were aware of specific suppliers offering this service in their area although this has improved over the last year (from 31%). Evidence that some consumers are trying to get a better deal 2.5 13% of homes said they use an indirect access operator, although the proportion using this for all their calls has been falling over recent months, from 50% in February 2001, to 32% by November. This perhaps indicates that consumers are becoming more thoughtful about how they make use of the choices available in order to get a better deal. This is broadly supported by reasons given for making less use of indirect access, which included an increase in their indirect operator’s prices / drop in BT’s prices; problems with line quality; and a decline in the number of international calls made. 2.6 There has been little change in awareness and conscious use of BT’s inclusive call time since August. About three in five indirect access customers said they were aware of it. About 17% of indirect access customers said they consciously made use of the inclusive time before switching to their indirect supplier for at least some of their calls (equivalent to 2% of all residential customers). There was no explicit evidence that inclusive call time acted as a barrier to greater use of indirect access operators. Switching has remained fairly stable for the past 18 months, and while most found the process easy, there are still some areas for improvement 2.7 Results on fixed number portability confirm findings from last quarter, which indicated significant improvement in use of number portability. 35% of those who switched more than a year ago kept their original number, compared with 58% of those who switched in the last year. However, 42% of recent switchers changed their number, and evidence suggests that a substantial proportion of this was the new company advising the customer they had to change their number. Oftel is currently investigating this issue in more detail and will publish further research later in 2002. 2.8 60% of fixed phone customers remain satisfied with the information sources available to assist them with their choices in the fixed telecoms market, rising to 74% amongst recent switchers. Previous Oftel research reported that most consumers were aware of a variety of sources, the most popular being recommendations from family and friends. There has been a rise within the last year in awareness of the independent sources of information www.cpi.org.uk and www.phonebills.org.uk from 5% and 7% respectively, both to 11%. The vast majority of customers are satisfied with their current fixed service 2.9 93% of customers were satisfied with their fixed telecoms service at home, comparable with satisfaction in the mobile (93%) and Internet (89%) markets. Satisfaction with reliability was higher still at 96%, whilst satisfaction with value for money (at 82%) was slightly lower than comparable mobile (85%) and Internet (91%) ratings. This is perhaps a consequence of fixed telecoms constituting the largest proportion of overall telecoms spend for most consumers, coupled with higher expectations in this longer established market, and less marked price falls than might be perceived for mobile and Internet deals.
Main findings Penetration and use of fixed telecoms in UK homes 3.1 During November, 93% of UK homes interviewed had a fixed line phone. Of the remaining 7% without a fixed phone, the majority (8 in 10) were using mobiles instead. This equates to 6% mobile-only homes in the UK, and 1% with neither fixed nor mobile phones. This can be seen in figure 3a below. There has been little change in the proportion of homes with fixed lines over the last year, although an increasing number of homes (currently 81%) also use mobiles. Figure 3a Penetration of fixed and mobile
telephony in UK homes
Note – rounding of data results in occasional months showing totals of 101% Homes without a fixed line phone 3.2 The proportion of consumers without a fixed line phone at home, across different segments of the population is shown in figure 3b. There has been little change in these figures since last quarter. Absence of fixed line phones remains most common among younger consumers and lower income groups, although the vast majority of these have mobile phones. Combined data from August and November is shown for individual geographic regions to ensure more robust base sizes of at least 200 in each region. Figure 3b % UK consumers without a fixed
line phone
Main method of making and receiving calls 3.3 Consumers were asked what they considered to be their main method of making and receiving calls, and how satisfied they were with this main method. The results are shown in figure 3c. 3.4 Almost eight in 10 residential consumers considered a fixed phone at home to be their main method of making and receiving calls while 17% of all residential consumers consider their mobile to be their main method. Seven in 10 of those who considered mobiles their main telephony service also had a fixed phone at home. Figure 3c % UK consumers using and satisfied
with their main method of telephony
3.5 Overall 95% of adults said they were satisfied with their main telephony service and 5% were dissatisfied. This equates to about 2.3 million adults dissatisfied with their main method of making and receiving calls, of whom c.1.2 million were dissatisfied with a fixed phone at home; c.780,000 with a mobile phone; c.140,000 with a public payphone; and c.140,000 with a work phone. The previous rise in satisfaction amongst consumers using payphones as their main method of telephony has not been sustained this quarter, falling from 84% to 63%. Fluctuations of this nature are to be expected as this equates to a sample of less than 20 people. Average spend on fixed telecoms services 3.6 The small drop in average fixed line quarterly spend reported in August has not been sustained during November but has returned to £82, similar to the amount reported in May. Although BT customers who don’t pay by direct debit saw an increase of about £1.30 (excluding VAT) on their quarterly line rental (introduced in October) this was partly off-set by an increase of about 90p in inclusive call time. However, the rise in inclusive call time may have been less evident to customers, leaving some with the perception that their bill was higher than in previous quarters. BT customers who pay by direct debit experienced a drop of about £1.30 (excluding VAT) on their quarterly line rental. The average consumers’ spend is slightly inflated by a small number of high spenders and quarterly spends are shown in figure 3d. Figure 3d Quarterly fixed line spend,
including rental, calls and VAT
3.7 Spend was related to the obvious consumer characteristics including income, household size, and use of additional telecoms such as Internet. Average quarterly spend amongst different customers is shown in figure 3e. This includes any metered Internet call time. Figure 3e Average quarterly fixed line
spend, including rental, calls and VAT
Consumers’ use of fixed telecoms operators 4.1 11% of fixed line homes claim to be using more than one operator for their calls and other home fixed telecoms services. 30% of fixed line homes use an alternative or additional supplier to BT (figure 4a). Figure 4a Residential supplier usage
4.2 Dual-supplied homes were more likely than average to be middle-aged; AB social grades / higher income groups; and have home Internet access. Awareness and use of indirect access 4.3 Consumers with a fixed phone at home were asked whether they were aware of companies which offer telecoms services using the line already in their home, by entering a short code before dialling the number or by using a box attached to the phone which does this automatically (indirect access operators). Just over half (56%) of fixed line customers said they were aware of these alternatives. There has been no change in this figure since last quarter. Slightly fewer (40%) were aware of companies offering indirect access in their area, although this has risen from 31% over the last year. Half of consumers thought they had a choice of cable in their area. 4.4 General awareness of indirect suppliers was lower than average amongst customers aged 55+; DE social grades (semi and unskilled working classes, and those on state-only incomes); low income groups; and low quarterly fixed telecoms spenders (less than £50 per quarter). Encouragingly general awareness was considerably higher (69%) amongst heavy fixed telecoms spenders (over £100 per quarter) who could potentially gain most benefit from these types of services, but still half were unaware that indirect access was available in their area. 4.5 13% of fixed phone customers said they use indirect operators (again no change since last quarter), which is slightly higher than the proportion who said they are currently dual-supplied (figure 4a above). This suggests that use of indirect suppliers by some consumers is occasional rather than continual, for example when they need to make an international call they may use an indirect operator. This is broadly in line with findings below which report that less than half of customers using indirect suppliers use them for all of their calls. 4.6 Reasons for not using indirect access are shown in figure 4b. Few consumers mentioned barriers such as having to dial access codes, or not wanting to receive multiple bills. Instead, the main reasons were lack of interest, perceptions of insufficient savings, and a lack of knowledge about, or ability to trust the company. 4.7 This is consistent with findings from recent qualitative work conducted for Oftel by Conway Smith Rose which provides a more detailed insight into consumers’ awareness and perceptions of choices in the fixed telecoms market, particularly indirect access options. The report highlights the importance of brand image in the telecoms market. Whilst some consumers believed that it was worth switching suppliers for a reduced price, few were prepared to switch to an unknown supplier, and few indirect access suppliers were considered to have yet established sufficiently reputable or well-known brands. The full report can be found at http://www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/research/2001/bran1101.htm Figure 4b Reasons for not using indirect
access
How are consumers using indirect access? 4.9 In February 2001, almost half of indirect access customers said they used their indirect operator for all of their calls. By August 2001, this had fallen to 38%, and by November to 32%, indicating that consumers are perhaps becoming more thoughtful about how they make use of the choices available in order to get a better deal. 4.10 In line with previous findings, indirect access operators are not used solely for savings on international calls. Customers are using them for a variety of call types including Internet access and calls to mobiles, as shown in figure 4c. Figure 4c Types of calls made using
indirect access operator
4.11 Most (63%) of those using indirect access operators said they were currently using them about the same amount as they used to. Just over a quarter (27%) said they now used their indirect access operator more than they used to, and 7% said they now used it less. 4.12 The main reasons for making less use of their indirect access operator (results should be treated qualitatively as based only on a sample of 18 people) included an increase in the suppliers’ prices; disappointing savings; poor line quality; and a decline in the number of international calls made by the household; a drop in BT’s prices; and forgetting to dial the access code. Awareness and use of BT’s inclusive call allowance 4.13 BT’s standard line rental includes inclusive or ‘free’ calls per month to the value of £2.15. Higher allowances are available on the BT Together package and for those with multiple lines or Home Highway. 4.14 Just over half (57%) of fixed phone customers were aware of inclusive call time. Similarly, 56% of BT customers were aware, as were 61% of customers using indirect access operators. There has been no change in these figures since August. 4.15 Customers who used an indirect access operator for some (rather than all) of their calls, and who were aware of BT’s inclusive call allowances, were asked how they made use of the inclusive time. 4.16 A quarter of these customers said they used the inclusive time and then switched to their indirect access operator for some or all of their calls. 14% said they sometimes used the inclusive time but sometimes forgot. 26% said they didn’t take the inclusive time into account when choosing whether to use BT or their indirect access operator. The remainder either said they didn’t use BT, or weren’t sure whether they used the inclusive time. This equates to about 17% of indirect access customers (or 2% of all fixed phone customers) consciously using the inclusive time, at least sometimes. There has been no change in these figures since August 2001. 4.17 Similarly, there has been no change in the proportion of these customers who knew when they had used their inclusive call time. About half (of those who had taken the allowance into account when deciding which supplier to use) said they estimated the amount used themselves, or checked with BT. The other half said they didn’t bother calculating the amount used/left. Switching supplier 4.18 Consumers were asked whether, apart from when they moved house, they had ever changed the company that provides their home fixed phone service, and if so, when this switch took place. 4.19 Altogether, 21% of residential consumers said they had changed their fixed phone supplier – 5% in the last year and 16% more than a year ago. 78% said they had never changed their supplier. This figure is slightly lower than reported in previous quarters (c.25% claimed to have switched supplier), and we shall continue to track this in future quarters. In August, the vast majority (92%) of consumers who had changed their fixed phone supplier said the process had been easy. Number portability 4.20 Two in five (42%) of those who had switched said they kept their original phone number when they changed companies, while 58% had changed their number. This equates to about 8% of residential fixed phone customers who have ever ported their number. Similar to the level of switching, the claimed level of porting is slightly lower than reported in August for which there is no obvious reason. We shall continue to monitor this in subsequent waves. 4.21 58% of customers who had switched in the last 12 months kept their original number, compared with 35% of those who switched more than a year ago. This indicates an improvement in take-up of fixed number portability during the last year in particular. However, 42% of customers who changed supplier in the last 12 months also changed their number. 4.22 Reasons for changing phone number when switching supplier (reported in August) include the new company telling the customer they had to have a new number, and to a lesser extent consumers wanting a new number for privacy. Less than one in 10 customers said their old company wouldn’t let them keep their original numbers, and less than one in 20 said that it was too much hassle to arrange to keep the same number. Awareness of and satisfaction with information available to assist choice of fixed telecoms 4.23 Oftel’s March 2000 switching survey reported that consumers were aware of literature provided by suppliers and general advertising, but few actually used these, relying instead on advice from friends and family or company sales staff. Awareness and use of independent information sources was low, but there was indication of demand for sources such as price, quality and service availability comparisons. 4.24 During November 2001, about one in 10 (11%) residential consumers said they had heard of or seen the comparative telecoms information provided by the industry at www.cpi.org.uk (comparative quality information), or www.phonebills.org.uk (comparative pricing information). This has risen slightly since February 2001 (from 5% and 7% respectively). 4.25 60% of residential fixed phone customers said they were satisfied with the information available for comparing and choosing between fixed phone suppliers. There has been little change in this figure since August, and satisfaction remains higher still amongst customers who had switched supplier, particularly in the last 12 months (74%). 4.26 Reasons for not switching supplier were mostly positive – ie satisfaction with the cost and/or service of current supplier. Barriers for a small proportion included perceptions that the switching would be too much hassle; concerns about the reliability of other suppliers and the level of savings that could be achieved; and lack of awareness alternatives. Further details can be found in the August report.
Satisfaction with fixed telecoms and complaint handling 5.1 Overall, 93% of residential customers were satisfied with their fixed telecoms service. This is comparable to satisfaction in both the mobile and Internet markets, where 93% and 89% respectively were satisfied with their overall mobile and Internet services. 5.2 Satisfaction with fixed telecoms was highest amongst the 55+ age group, and low quarterly spenders (less than £50 per month), and lowest amongst the higher spending groups. There was little difference between customers using different suppliers. 5.3 96% of fixed line customers were satisfied with the reliability of their service, and 82% were satisfied with value for the money. Value for money was slightly lower than similar measures in the mobile and Internet markets, as seen in figure 5a. This is perhaps a consequence of fixed telecoms tending to constitute the largest proportion of overall telecoms spend, higher expectations in this longer established market, and more obvious recent price falls across these two markets, rather than them necessarily offering better value for money than fixed telecoms. Figure 5a Satisfaction with home fixed
telecoms, mobile, and Internet
Complaint handling 5.4 By November 2001, 31% of UK adults had ever complained to their telephone company (either fixed or mobile). This has risen slightly from 25% in February. The level of complaints was lower amongst consumers using only fixed phones (at 17%, similar to February), compared with those using both fixed and mobile phones (35%). Heavy telecoms spenders and those with Internet at home were most likely to have complained. 5.5 Just over half (53%) of customers were satisfied with the way their complaint had been handled. There has been no significant improvement in this figure since February (50%). 5.6 The main reason for dissatisfaction with complaint handling was an unsatisfactory resolution or outcome for the problem. Key areas for improvement in February included keeping the customer informed of progress; meeting promises made to the customer; making it easier for customers to get hold of an appropriate person to deal with their complaint; and resolving the complaint within a reasonable period of time.
Q7 November 2001 residential questionnaire: fixed telecoms questions ASK ONLY THOSE ON THE TELEPHONE How many companies provide your household with telephone services? Please do not count mobile phone companies. ASK ONLY THOSE ON THE TELEPHONE Which of these types of companies on this card do you/your household use for your home fixed line telephone services? If you use more than one fixed line supplier, please let me know what type of company each supplier is. Please do not count mobile phone companies. MULTICODE BT How satisfied are you with the following. . . SINGLE CODE ONLY
Your fixed line telephone service overall? Very satisfied ASK ONLY THOSE ON THE TELEPHONE Are you aware of Indirect Access Operators? These are companies which offer telecoms services using the line already in your home. You usually enter a short code before you dial the number you wish to call. Alternatively, you may have a box attached to your phone, which does this for you. And do you use any of these companies? ASK ONLY THOSE USING AN INDIRECT ACCESS OPERATOR AT Q3b Which types of calls do you use your Indirect Access operator for? MULTICODE International calls Do you use your Indirect Access Operator more, less or about the same as when you first started using this service? SINGLE CODE
More calls than before ASK ONLY THOSE MAKING FEWER CALLS THAN
BEFORE ASK ALL ON THE TELEPHONE Are you aware that BT’s line rental includes a certain amount of free calls?
ASK ONLY THOSE USING INDIRECT ACCESS AND AWARE OF BT’S FREE CALLS AND WHO DO NOT USE INDIRECT ACCESS FOR ALL CALLS Which of the following best describes how you use your indirect supplier and the free calls included with BT’s line rental? SINGLE CODE I use the BT free-call allowance then switch
to an Indirect Access operator for all other calls GO TO Q8 ASK ONLY THOSE WHO USE BT’S FREE CALLS How do you know when you have used your free calls? Which of these types of telephone company do you think are available to you in your area? BT Indirect Access supplier – companies who offer telecoms services using the line already in your home. You usually enter a short code before you dial the number you wish to call. Alternatively, you may have a box attached to your phone which does this for you ASK ONLY THOSE ON THE TELEPHONE Apart from when you have moved house, have you ever changed the company which provides your home fixed-line telephone service? IF YES, ASK: Was this in the last twelve months or more than a year ago? ASK ONLY THOSE WHO HAVE CHANGED SUPPLIER And when you changed the company which provides your fixed-line home telephone service, did you change your phone number or did you keep your original number? ASK ONLY THOSE ON THE TELEPHONE How satisfied are you with the information available for comparing and choosing between fixed-line telephone suppliers? ASK ONLY THOSE ON THE TELEPHONE Approximately how much would you estimate your TOTAL household spend per quarter on telecoms services for all telecoms suppliers used (including line rental and VAT) but EXCLUDING mobile phone costs? ASK ALL Which of these do you consider to be your MAIN method of making and receiving telephone calls? Public payphone ASK ALL And how satisfied are you with [insert method] as your main method of making and receiving calls? SINGLE CODE Very satisfied Have you ever made a complaint to ANY telephone company – mobile or fixed?
Yes ASK ALL THOSE WHO MADE A COMPLAINT Overall, how satisfied were you with the way the company handled your most recent complaint?
Very satisfied
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