Ahead of NCTC’s The Independent Show, Parks Associates and Plume announced research that details the shift in broadband competition as providers need to deliver a superior customer experience based on reliability, proactive management, and personalization. As gigabit speeds become more common, surpassing 25% penetration in the US, broadband providers can no longer compete on speed but must refocus on engagement, leveraging advanced AI platforms to account for the unique needs of each subscriber.
Captured in a white paper, Owning the Broadband Subscriber Experience in the AI Era, the research warns ISPs of risks in ceding the subscriber intelligence layer to device OEMs, satellite providers, and large technology platforms.
The research finds consumers, especially younger generations, are increasingly sensitive to service issues, including outages and poor customer service, while also demanding proactive services that improve reliability, protection and the overall connected home experience:
56% of US households report experiencing at least one tested home internet service problem in the past 90 days.
62% of smart home device owners find AI-powered cybersecurity monitoring appealing, and 27% are willing to pay at a tested price point.
The research distinguishes between current AI applications such as automated network optimization and predictive diagnostics and the emerging wave of agentic AI, where tools autonomously execute multi-step tasks across the network and care environments. It examines how agentic AI is enabling broadband providers to scale up their services, maturing from reactive customer support to predictive operations that identify and resolve issues before they cause disruptions. The white paper also explores the growing importance of unified network intelligence, digital care, cybersecurity, and personalized engagement across the subscriber lifecycle.
Key findings:
Subscribers experiencing poor customer service are seven times more likely to consider switching providers than households reporting no service issues.
Consumers ages 18–24 are far less likely to report their internet service as reliable and are significantly more willing to switch providers, making them both the highest-risk and highest-opportunity segment for broadband providers.
Consumer adoption of AI tools continues to accelerate, creating new network demands and increasing the need for intelligent network management.
Connected households face between 36 and 86 blocked security threats per month on average, with botnet attacks growing 89% year-over-year, a scale of exposure most subscribers cannot see without provider-level network visibility.
Jennifer Kent, Senior Vice President & Principal Analyst, Parks Associates
Consumers expect providers to deliver reliable connectivity, proactive support, and protection across the connected home. AI enables providers to anticipate problems, personalize service and create experiences that build long-term loyalty.
Tam Williams, Contributing Analyst, Parks Associates
Broadband competition is shifting beyond speed. The providers that deliver the most reliable, secure and personalized connected home experience will be best positioned to retain subscribers and attract new customers as AI becomes an integral part of everyday digital life.
Rebecca Stone, Chief Marketing Officer, Plume
Subscribers just want their video call to work, their kids to be safe online and their smart lock to respond when they’re away from home. What they can’t see is that our platform is blocking up to 86 security threats a month in their home and that botnet attacks grew 89% in a year. Only a platform that learns globally across hundreds of operators and half a billion devices can spot those patterns and act on them before the subscriber ever notices. That is what turns network intelligence into subscriber confidence, and subscriber confidence into lower churn and cost to serve.