“Over 50 per cent of the variation in satisfaction levels across operators is determined by the variation in their network performance. This compares favourably with what Nielsen has seen in other markets,” it added.

The observations form part of a Consumer Experience Mobile Test programme in India by the research firm, which measures wireless network performance for all national and select regional carriers in markets covering a population of nearly 100 million people across the country.

“There is an opportunity for an operator to get ahead of its competition and create a nationally or regionally differentiated network position in the market by using the competitive benchmarks to guide their investments,” said Ms Shankari Panchapakesan, Executive Director, Telecom Practice Group, The Nielsen Company.

Nielsen’s Best Practice Reliability metric indicates that there is room for improvement particularly in India’s Tier I markets. While the network reliability in countries such as the US is as high as 99.5 per cent, in India the market average is 99.1 per cent.

“Nielsen studies across the world show rising consumer expectations from wireless networks, even as their calling patterns and demands from the network increase over time. As the market grows and newer services are introduced, to retain the current high levels of satisfaction and to remain competitive, Indian operators need to be on top of the changing expectations of their subscribers,” said Ms Panchapakesan.