YouGov study: Just one in three have good understanding of 5G

Survey suggests consumers are in no rush to upgrade to 5G

Only a third of Brits claim to have a good understanding of what 5G is, despite three mobile operators having launched services, according to a YouGov study.

EE, Vodafone and Three have launched 5G services in the past few months, with O2 set to follow suit next month.

However, nearly two-thirds of the more than 2,500 respondents polled in the study were found to have a poor understanding of 5G.

Such was the lack of knowledge about the technology that only 27 per cent said it was likely they would upgrade to a 5G tariff in the future, while 28 per cent said they probably wouldn’t.

Of those that planned to upgrade, 29 per cent said they hoped to do so in the next 12 months.

Upgrade reasons

The ability to get a faster connection without lag (46 per cent) and a better connection in busier places (41 per cent) were given as the most common reasons to upgrade to 5G.

The study also revealed that most respondents were satisfied with 4G, with only 13 per cent bemoaning it.

According to the poll, 40 per cent said they were happy with the current speed of their service, while 36 per cent said the cost of 5G was too high.

YouGov director of digital, media and technology Russell Feldman said: “Whilst uptake rates are relatively modest, we expect attitudes and intent towards 5G to ramp up in the coming months while networks continue to promote the benefits of 5G and consumer awareness increases.

“Additionally, prices have now been revealed, taking away some of the mystery.”