Quarter of Japanese Consumers Eye Internet Provider Switch

PARIS and TOKYO, Jan. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- At today's Wireless Global Congress (WGC) APAC 2026, Airties, a global leader of AI-driven software that improves the connectivity experience for ISPs' subscribers, today announced findings from a newly commissioned consumer survey, independently conducted by Qualtrics, of more than 1,000 Japanese households*. The survey revealed a potential churn crisis for home ISPs in Japan: approximately one-quarter of households are considering switching providers in the near future, with quality of service being a decisive factor. Similar research, disclosed last month**, found that roughly one-third of consumers across the US and UK are considering switching ISPs in the near future. Even though the likelihood of churn is lower in Japan, it demonstrates the scale of churn risk within the country. Notably, the survey also found that up to 60% of potential churn in Japan could be avoided by investing in better quality, features, and customer support, independent of pricing.

"Many Japanese households are silently suffering with real connectivity frustrations, and a stunning quarter of them are considering leaving their current Internet service provider in the near future," said John Lancaster-Lennox, Executive Vice President and General Manager Asia Pacific at Airties. "Our research shows that Japanese consumers want ISPs to take more responsibility for the quality of their home Wi-Fi experience, and to provide a smarter managed service with advanced features that guarantee performance across apps and devices. Airties' AI-driven connectivity software was designed to meet these expectations, provide better customer support, proactively mitigate churn risks, and improve customer satisfaction."

Looming Risk for Japanese ISPs:

• 8% of Japanese respondents said they changed their home ISP in the past 12 months, compared to 18% in the US and 24% in the UK.
• Only 21% of Japanese consumers said they are very satisfied with their current home Internet experience.
• 51% of Japanese consumers said they currently experience noticeable Wi-Fi or Internet problems occasionally, but only 18% of respondents said they contacted their home ISP in the past 12 months because of a home Wi-Fi or Internet problem, which highlights a large segment of customers who endure issues silently.
• Looking ahead, despite the fact that 81% think that changing their home ISP would be a hassle, 24% of Japanese consumers said they are considering changing their home ISP in the near future. This compares to 28% of consumers in the US and 37% in the UK who are considering switching in the near future.
• Very dissatisfied consumers are 5 times far more likely to churn than very satisfied consumers: 61% of respondents who are currently very dissatisfied with their ISPs are considering switching ISPs in the near future compared to 12% of very satisfied customers who are considering switching ISPs in the near future.

Quality vs Price:

• Findings show that up to 60% of potential churn in Japan could be avoided by investing in better quality, features and customer support, independent of pricing.
• Of those who are considering changing their home ISP in the near future, 38% of Japanese respondents said the main reason they are considering changing is because they are unhappy with the quality of Wi-Fi or Internet in their home, vs 34% because of pricing considerations. Similarly, 31% of UK respondents and 42% of US respondents cited poor Internet quality as the primary reason.
• The most frustrating issues pushing Japanese consumers to consider switching include devices disconnecting from Wi-Fi (49%), video freezing or poor video quality (44%), and slow website browsing (42%).
• Of those considering changing ISPs, 13% said the main reason was the desire for better features elsewhere. These respondents cited the following missing features from their current ISP that would make them consider changing to a new provider: cybersecurity to protect their devices from online threats (42%); an easy mobile app to manage their home network (41%); Wi-Fi that automatically improves its own speed and stability (36%); and advanced parental controls and content filtering (23%).
• Of those considering changing ISPs, 9% said the main reason was they were unhappy with the customer support of their current ISP.
• Among Japanese consumers who switched ISPs in the past year, more than half (54%) said they actually now pay the same or more than they did previously.

Consumers Want ISPs to Manage the Home Wi-Fi and are Willing to Pay

• Nearly two-thirds of Japanese consumers (65%) said they would prefer their ISP to supply their home Wi-Fi router as part of their service with a guaranteed reliable connection, whereas 35% said they would prefer to buy their own routers.
• 44% of consumers expressed interest in a "Guaranteed or Smart Wi-Fi" service that ensures strong coverage throughout the home and automatically fixes network issues remotely.
• Notably, 44% said they would be willing to pay between ¥500 and ¥2,000 more per month for such a service, demonstrating a clear willingness to pay for reliable, high-quality connectivity.

Exceptional Connectivity and Prioritization is Essential

• 23% of Japanese households said they currently use one Wi-Fi extender, in addition to their main home Wi-Fi router in their homes, while 3% said they have 2 extenders, and 1% said they have 3 extenders.
• Japanese households depend heavily on Wi-Fi for daily activities, with video streaming (73%), Wi-Fi calling (56%), social media (55%), and online gaming (30%) as the leading activities placing demands on home networks.
• Japanese households want AI-driven network management: 76% want Wi-Fi systems that automatically optimize performance for important activities, and 74% want the ability to manually prioritize bandwidth themselves (such as via an app).

Airties empowers broadband service providers to deliver smooth, smart, secure connectivity. Across the globe, ISPs rely upon Airties' software for the ongoing optimization of their customers' broadband experience to help reduce churn, attract new customers, lower operating and support costs, and innovate in new ways. Airties' AI-driven insights, across devices and applications, helps ISPs improve performance quality, market effectively, and deliver a premium managed broadband experience to consumers.

Airties Home directs consumers' devices (laptops, tablets, phones, game consoles, IoT, smart home devices, etc.) to the best available Wi-Fi access point and frequency band based on real-time network conditions; manages Mesh networking; and optimizes QoS. It also helps ISPs observe, diagnose, and fix in-home connectivity issues automatically or through actionable recommendations; delivers insights and optimizations for connected devices and applications; and provides intuitive dashboards and APIs to support operators' CRM systems and customer facing support apps to manage their home networks, set parent controls, prioritizations, guest access, and more.

Airties has received many prestigious industry awards for its innovations, including: "Best Home Wi-Fi Solution Award" from Broadband World Forum; "Best Wi-Fi Service Provider Solution" and "Best Home Wi-Fi Product" awards from Wi-Fi NOW; "Best Wi-Fi Innovation" and "Best-In Home Wi-Fi Network" awards from Wireless Broadband Alliance; "Best Broadband Customer Experience" from Cable & Satellite International; and numerous others.

Airties representatives will be at the Wireless Global Congress (WGC) APAC Event in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. On January 27 at 11:00 a.m., John Lancaster-Lennox will present these survey findings at the Tokyo Innovation Base (TIB) during the session: "Inside the Japanese Home: Consumer Survey Perspectives and Implications for Broadband Providers", and join a panel session at 6:40 p.m. on "Wi-Fi Opportunities for Carriers and Service Providers".

* Survey of 1,055 respondents who are connected to Wi-Fi across Japan, commissioned by Airties in Q4 2025, and conducted by Qualtrics.
** Survey of 2,130 respondents who are connected to Wi-Fi across the UK (1,038) and US (1,092), commissioned by Airties in Q3 2025, and conducted by Qualtrics;