Nearly 39 percent of respondents in a National Communications Commission (NCC) survey said they had upgraded from 4G to 5G because they changed their contract or got a new phone.
The percentage of 4G users upgrading to 5G has increased in the past few years, from 25.5 percent in 2023 to 38.7 percent last year, the survey showed.
The percentage of 4G users who continued to subscribe to 4G service plans fell from 72.1 percent to 60.1 percent, NCC data showed.
Photo: CNA
The majority of respondents said they switched to 5G because they signed to new contracts with their carrier or received a discount with the purchase of a 5G-capable device, it showed.
While the reasons were the same as in 2023 and 2024, the percentage rose from 54.3 percent in 2023 to 70.7 percent last year.
The survey also found that 23.8 percent of respondents switched from 4G to 5G because they were dissatisfied with 4G speeds, up from 22.2 in 2023, while 23.7 percent said 5G services were necessary because they regularly watched videos, up from 15.2 percent in 2023.
Other reasons include satisfaction with 5G service plans (23 percent), seeking experience with 5G technology (20.1 percent), using 5G to play video games (18.2 percent) and using 5G for videoconferencing (8 percent).
Seventy-four percent of 4G users said they saw no need to upgrade to 5G, up from 70.8 percent in 2023, while 48 percent said that 5G services are more expensive, up from 31 percent in 2023.
Other reasons causing 4G users to hesitate to switch included that 5G has yet to become a well-established technology (12.7 percent) and the need to purchase new mobile phones (9 percent), the survey showed.
On a scale of one to 10, 4G users ranked the service 7.7 for data transmission speed and coverage rates, while 5G users ranked their service 7.9 and 7.6 in the respective categories.
That satisfaction for 4G users potentially explained their reluctance to migrate to 5G, the NCC said.
The survey, performed last year, also found that a majority of telecom users still preferred to subscribe to unlimited data plans without speed throttling for certain usage, although the percentage had fallen from 63.2 percent to 56.6 percent. Those subscribing to unlimited data plans with a speed cap after certain usage rose to 16.7 percent from 13.1 percent in 2024.
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