Three quarters of consumers satisfied with bundle subscriptions – MCA

Three quarters of consumers are satisfied with their bundle subscriptions, a consumer perceptions survey carried out by the Malta Communications Authority (MCA) has found. According to the survey’s results, four per cent of all bundle subscribers reported not being satisfied with the service they were receiving, whilst another 21 per cent were indifferent.

The MCA has pointed out that while satisfaction levels exhibited “a good showing,” it was a four per cent decrease on the results of 2015, when the survey was last carried out. Frequent disconnections and bad customer service were featured prominently among those expressing dissatisfaction with the quality of service.

Meanwhile, 64 per cent of respondents experiencing a fault with their bundle subscription said that they were satisfied with the level of response provided by their operator to address the problem.

The survey found that bundle subscriptions, which come in various combinations of phone, internet and television, were by far the most popular means of communication in Malta, with 96 per cent of the 840 respondents found to have a subscription to such bundles.

The most popular choice of bundle was found to be the triple-play subscription, which normally consists of pay-TV, fixed broadband and fixed telephony. This type of subscription was used by 45 per cent of all respondents. The next most popular was the quad-play subscription, which adds mobile telephony to the aforementioned services. This type of subscription was used by 36 per cent of respondents.

Fifty-nine per cent of respondents with a bundle subscription said that the availability of discounts and promotional offers were the main reason for their selection of a bundle instead of stand-alone products. Another 34 percent that single billing was a very convenient bundle feature.

Just two per cent of respondents with a bundle subscription switched service providers over the last two years – seven percentage points less than 2015.

Moreover, survey data shows that few respondents would actually switch their bundle subscription from their current service provider if monthly access fees were to rise by 10 per cent. Forty-two per cent said that, notwithstanding a 10 per cent price increase, they would keep their current subscription, although 21 per cent said they would stay with the same provider but go for a cheaper option. Thirty-two per cent of respondents said that they would switch to a new service provider, while the remaining five per cent would switch to a stand-alone service, with their current provider or an alternative operator.

The MCA carries out the survey at two-year intervals, with the first having been carried out in 2008. The aim is to gather information on the level of consumer satisfaction with the products and services on offer and the extent to which service providers address the demands of their clients.

Data was gathered through telephone computer-assisted interviews. The MCA said that the consumers sampled were stratified according to the age composition of the Malta’s population, and that the interviews were distributed across the islands’ six main geographic regions and across the population’s socio-economic categories.