2015 Canadian Television & Internet Service Provider Customer Satisfaction Studies

TORONTO: 25 June 2015 — Internet performance and reliability are becoming more critical as consumers grow increasingly dependent on Wi-Fi for a variety of uses, according to the J.D. Power 2015 Canadian Television Provider Customer Satisfaction Study^SM and the J.D. Power 2015 Canadian Internet Service Provider Customer Satisfaction Study^SM both released today.

Consumers are using their Internet service to enable Wi-Fi networks in the home to connect PCs, tablets, smartphones and other household devices. The bandwidth required for all of these devices, particularly for activities such as streaming videos and on-demand TV programming put performance to the test and raises the expectations of providers.

“Today’s consumers require Internet connectivity as part of their lifestyle and we continue to see greater convergence of everything digital,” said Adrian Chung, account director at J.D. Power. “Behaviors have changed the demand for Internet service with the use of on-demand streaming services, controlling household devices such as thermostats remotely, or connecting smart appliances.”

With the emphasis on speed, more customers are switching to fiber optic-based connections; 18 percent of customers have fiber optic in 2015, up from 15 percent in 2014. Largely due to performance and reliability, overall satisfaction among customers with fiber optic connections (698 on a 1,000-point scale) exceeds that among cable modem customers (689) and DSL customers (670). Customers with fiber optic connections indicate experiencing fewer connection errors, slow connections and service outages than those with cable modem or DSL.

The Canadian Television Provider Customer Satisfaction Study measures overall satisfaction with television service providers based on six factors (in order of importance): performance and reliability; cost of service; programming; communication; billing; and customer service. The Canadian Internet Service Provider Customer Satisfaction Study is based on five factors (in order of importance): performance and reliability; cost of service; communication; billing; and customer service. 

KEY FINDINGS

• Satisfaction among television customers in Canada improves to 692 in 2015 from 685 in 2014, while satisfaction among Internet customers is 679, up from 672 in 2014.
• On average, the cost of television service is $73 per month and the cost of Internet service is $55 per month.
• Price is the leading reason customers switch cable or ISP providers. More than one-fourth (27 percent) of both cable and ISP customers indicate an intention to change providers in the next year, with “a better price” the primary reason for switching.
• Among fiber optic customers, 42 per cent indicate experiencing a connection error, compared with 46 per cent of cable modem customers and 49 per cent of DSL customers. Further, 49 percent of fiber optic customers have experienced a slow connection, compared with 52 percent of cable modem customers and 54 per cent of DSL customers. Among fiber optic customers, 32 percent have experienced a service outage, compared with 34 per cent of DSL customers and 36 percent of cable modem customers.
• Satisfaction among the 32 percent of customers who have experienced a service outage of their television signal is 672, compared with 783 among those who have not experienced a service outage. Satisfaction among the 34 per cent of customers who have experienced a service outage of Internet service is 617, compared with 753 among those who have not had a service outage.

Study Rankings

East Region

Videotron ranks highest in both television and Internet customer satisfaction in the East region for a third consecutive year. Videotron’s overall score for television service customer satisfaction is 772, followed by Shaw with a score of 725 and Cogeco with 711. Regarding Internet service customer satisfaction, Videotron ranks highest with a score of 770, followed by Cogeco with 715 and Eastlink with 690.

West Region

SaskTel ranks highest in both television and Internet service customer satisfaction in the West region for a third consecutive year. SaskTel’s overall score for television service customer satisfaction is 737, followed by TELUS with 711 and MTS with 697. In Internet service satisfaction, SaskTel ranks highest with a score of 701, followed by TELUS with 690.

The 2015 Canadian Television Provider Customer Satisfaction Study and the 2015 Canadian Internet Service Provider Customer Satisfaction Study are based on responses from more than 3,400 TV customers in the West region and more than 6,100 TV customers in the East region; and more than 3,700 Internet customers in the West region and more than 5,900 in the East region. Both studies were fielded in November 2014 and April 2015.

Media Relations Contacts

Beth Daniher, Cohn & Wolfe, Toronto, Canada; 647-259-3279, beth.daniher@cohnwolfe.ca
Gal Wilder, Cohn & Wolfe, Toronto, Canada; 647-259-3261, gal.wilder@cohnwolfe.ca
John Tews, J.D. Power, Troy, Michigan; 248-680-6218, media.relations@jdpa.com

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