International research firm announces new mobile and consumer research ahead of Mobile World Congress

New consumer research from Parks Associates reveals that 10% of U.S. broadband households are likely to cancel their fixed broadband service over the next 12 months. According to 360 View: Mobility & the App Economy, these consumers would use wireless or mobile data services as a replacement for their traditional broadband service. This trend is an extension of the current migration away from fixed-line telephone services in favor of cellular, with 8% of U.S. broadband households planning to cancel this service in the next 12 months. Currently 51% of U.S. broadband households have fixed-line phone service.

“The diminishing use of fixed-line voice services may foreshadow the decline of fixed-broadband Internet services as the mobile data capabilities of smartphones increase and mobile carriers in the U.S. re-introduce their unlimited data plans,” said Harry Wang, Senior Director of Research, Parks Associates. “Not surprisingly, younger consumers are more likely to go completely mobile for their Internet needs; 15% of heads-of-household ages 25-34 are likely to cancel their fixed broadband service in the next 12 months.”

Mobile World Congress, which takes place February 27 - March 2 in Barcelona, Spain, will address these trends. The event is the world’s largest gathering for the mobile industry and is organized by the GSMA.

Parks Associates notes that a growing number of value-added mobile services, such as T-Mobile’s zero-rated HD video streaming offer, AT&T’s zero-rated DIRECTV Now service, Sprint’s Amazon Prime service, or Verizon’s Go90 video service, may have emboldened broadband cord-cutters.

“Subscribers to value-added mobile data services are substantially more likely to cancel their fixed broadband service,” Wang said. “This suggests that the use of a mobile phone for entertainment purposes contributes to the consumer perception that they can substitute mobile for fixed-data service with little or no pain.”

360 View: Mobility & the App Economyanalyzes consumers’ adoption and usage of mobile devices, services, and apps. The consumer study tracks adoption trends of major mobile device categories, analyzes consumer use of mobile data and mobile apps for media and daily information needs, and explores how mobile data usage will evolve between cellular data and Wi-Fi usage. Additional research from the report shows:

• Subscribers who use larger amounts of 3G, 4G, or LTE data are slightly more likely to cancel their broadband service.
• Upcoming movers are substantially more likely to cancel their broadband service because of mobile data services.

“For frequent movers, mobile data services offer greater convenience as these consumers don’t have to repeatedly subscribe to and cancel fixed-line services,” Wang said. “Mobile carriers could target these consumers in particular with value-added services that make it easier for them to secure a full complement of services even as they change addresses.”

Parks Associates is supporting Mobile World Congress. To register for the event, go to http://bit.ly/MobileWC.

More information about this 360 View is available at www.parksassociates.com. To schedule an interview with Harry Wang or to request specific data, contact Holly Sprague at hsprague@gmail.com, 720.987.6614.

About Parks Associates

Parks Associates, a woman-founded and certified business, is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates provides business intelligence and research services through its proprietary methodologies developed over decades, including quarterly surveys of 10,000 internet households.

The company's expertise crosses many industries: home security and smart home, streaming video, broadband and pay-TV services, digital media and platforms, gaming, Wi-Fi and home networks, connected health, support, consumer electronics, home control systems, energy management, and tech solutions for the multi-dwelling (MDU), small-to-medium business (SMB), and commercial building markets.

Each year, Parks Associates brings thousands of leaders together for its webinars and annual events. The firm hosts the annual executive research and strategy conferences CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. https://www.parksassociates.com

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