Nearly Half of U.S. Consumers are Indifferent to 4G LTE, Survey Says
Wireless carriers are spending big money rolling out high-speed 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks across the nation, and if a Piper Jaffray survey is any indication, almost half of American consumers are indifferent to the idea. At the same time, more than half of the 3,000 individuals polled said they're considering an iPhone 5 purchase, with 4G LTE being one of the big expected feature updates to Apple's next generation smartphone.
Some 47 percent of those surveyed said they don't need 4G LTE, while a little more than a quarter -- 26 percent -- told Piper Jaffray that all 4G network technologies are the same. Only 15 percent recognized 4G LTE as the best option, perhaps indicating that wireless carriers need to do a better job educating the masses on what all the fuss is about. We're reminded of a Saturday Night Live skit spoofing a Verizon employee who tries to explain what 4G LTE is to a customer, only to inundate him with a bunch tech jargon (see embedded video below).
Some 47 percent of those surveyed said they don't need 4G LTE, while a little more than a quarter -- 26 percent -- told Piper Jaffray that all 4G network technologies are the same. Only 15 percent recognized 4G LTE as the best option, perhaps indicating that wireless carriers need to do a better job educating the masses on what all the fuss is about. We're reminded of a Saturday Night Live skit spoofing a Verizon employee who tries to explain what 4G LTE is to a customer, only to inundate him with a bunch tech jargon (see embedded video below).
Over half of the survey respondents were either unclear which carrier had the best 4G LTE network, or felt they're all the same. However, Verizon emerged as the fan favorite in the poll. Of those planning to buy an iPhone, 44 percent said they'll go with Verizon, followed by AT&T with 29 percent, and Sprint at 14 percent. Interestingly, 13 percent said they'd choose T-Mobile, the only carrier out of the four that doesn't carry the iPhone.
