Indonesians are the most keen to adopt and pay for 5G, study finds

This comes as Indonesian operators roll out limited 5G deployments in the face of a severe spectrum shortage, with other operators likely to join the bandwagon soon. While 5G’s arrival is delayed in the country, there seems to be great anticipation among residents.

“YouGov data shows that while 5G may be the future of connectivity, it has yet to catch on at scale, with massive variation in adoption and attitudes across global markets. Our research shows that a major barrier network providers need to overcome is convincing consumers about the benefits of 5G,” said Duncan Stark, the global sector head of telecoms at YouGov.

“This is an area where accurate data can help companies in better targeting consumers who currently either lack knowledge or are skeptical about adopting the technology.”

What are the findings of the report?

• Only 26% of consumers in the 17 surveyed markets have 5G-enabled smartphones, half (52%) do not and 18% are unsure whether their smartphone is 5G-enabled or not.

• While ownership is highest in China (55%), Hong Kong and Indonesia also join the areas where at least a third of respondents currently own a 5G device.

• Other Asian countries such as India (32%) and Singapore (26%) make for a telling contrast, with the US (26%), Germany (17%), the UK (16%) and France (16%) lagging behind the Asian countries in terms of 5G adoption.

• Indonesians are more likely than any other nationality to say they are likely to get a 5G tariff in the future at 84%, ahead of China with 79% and India with 75%.

• More than four out of five (83%) Indonesians agreed with the statement: ‘5G will change how people connect to the internet.’ They were much more likely to say this as compared to 46% of Germans, 44% of Americans, 40% of French respondents and 39% of British respondents.

• While they are excited about 5G, Indonesians do have some concerns about the technology and 39% of respondents said they were worried about 5G networks.