5G networks provided a significant boost to user experience at major 2024 European events, with 5G users expressing 20 percent more satisfaction than those using 4G, according to a survey by Ericsson's ConsumerLab. The survey noted that two-thirds of 5G users at these events reported that their connectivity expectations were met or exceeded. The study found that consistent app performance, rather than speed alone, was key to user satisfaction, highlighting the growing demand for reliable, seamless connectivity.
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5G Drives User Satisfaction at European Events
Ericsson, the European telecommunications company, noted that 2024 marked the first year where major European events coincided with the focused rollout of 5G infrastructure by operators, in anticipation of growing mobile traffic demands. These events, including the global sporting event in Paris, the European Football Championship, and Taylor Swift's Eras concerts, provided a real-world testing ground for 5G's capabilities in delivering enhanced connectivity experiences in challenging traffic environments.
According to the report, the study also found that consumers are willing to pay a premium for guaranteed connectivity and app experience during events, with attendees ready to spend up to 15 percent more on event tickets for enhanced network and app experiences.
Role of 5G in Handling Traffic Surge
"5G standalone would allow operators to best meet this requirement, by allowing them to reserve a part of their network to provide assured quality of experience for specific users or apps," said Ericsson.
The performance uplift from 5G at these events allowed operators to accommodate a surge in upload traffic driven by real-time live streaming and content sharing, Ericsson further added.
At Taylor Swift's concerts, fans consumed an average of 5.4 TB of data per night, while at the Paris sporting event, network traffic spiked by 20 percent, with 5G handling half of the load at key venues. Without 5G, network overloads would have likely occurred, Ericsson observed.
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Consumer Willingness to Pay
"This study clearly shows that the enhanced experiences 5G provides are driving greater satisfaction," said Jasmeet Sethi, Head of ConsumerLab at Ericsson. "With 5G standalone, operators have a significant opportunity to meet rising user expectations and capitalise on premium services for consumers seeking assured quality of experience."
Jenny Lindqvist, Head of Market Area Europe and Latin America, said: "Looking ahead, differentiated connectivity will allow operators to cater for individual user needs and expectations, for instance through guaranteed premium connectivity. This will lead to even higher customer satisfaction and create new revenue opportunities for the operators."
Tanja Richter, Managing Director Technology and Network Director at Vodafone Germany, said: "We take such major events into account in our network planning and in many cases activate additional LTE and 5G antennas on site. This ensures that we can process the huge amounts of data simultaneously and reliably, even when thousands of users are on the network at the same time."
"During this year's global sporting event in Paris, we witnessed unprecedented traffic levels. To accommodate the anticipated 11 million attendees arriving in the city, we deployed numerous temporary mobile sites powered by 5G, which handled 25 percent of the total traffic," said Anne Flore Roger, Technical Director, Mobile Network at Orange. "It's clear that without 5G, we could not have met the connectivity needs of users at this scale."
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5G's Role in Enhancing Network Efficiency
In addition to the ConsumerLab study, Ericsson released a technology paper highlighting that capacity expansions by operators focused on 5G, particularly utilising 5G mid-band TDD spectrum combined with Massive MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output) technology. This approach proved both cost-effective and efficient, significantly boosting capacity and enhancing experiences for both 4G and 5G users.
For example, at the global sporting event in Paris, average throughputs for 5G users were up to six times higher than for 4G under regular conditions and four times higher during peak times, while mid-band 5G TDD delivered a 3.5-fold energy efficiency improvement per gigabyte compared to 4G.
According to Ericsson, the study, which was quantitative in nature, was carried out from June to August 2024. A total of 2,404 respondents were interviewed, with recruitment occurring via in-person outreach at the events and in online panels.
