Raw speed has stopped being a dependable way for broadband providers to stand out — with gigabit service reaching 25% penetration in the United States and performance gaps among fiber, cable, and fixed wireless narrowing — according to a new report from Parks Associates.
The research argued that reliability, service quality, cybersecurity, and overall customer experience now shape satisfaction, loyalty, and churn likelihood. 56% of U.S. households reported at least one problem with their home internet service in the past 90 days, including outages, Wi-Fi dead spots, and slow speeds.
Those problems carried consequences, the report said. Dead spots were tied to a 27-point drop in Net Promoter Score, poor customer service to a 28-point drop, and service issues to a tripling of turnover risk. Poor customer service also topped the list of issues most likely to prompt a subscriber to consider switching, at 37%.
Data security worries had become a constant for connected households, the report found. Roughly three-quarters of U.S. households said they were concerned about the safety of their personal data, a level that has held steady since 2021.
The report said network-level cybersecurity monitoring is the most-desired concept in its testing of AI-powered home services, with 62% of smart home device owners calling it appealing and 27% saying they would likely pay $10 a month for it.
Generational differences also stood out. Consumers ages 18 to 24 were far less likely than older groups to describe their service as reliable, and those under 44 reported dead spots, lag, and slow speeds more often while showing greater willingness to change providers.
The report tied these pressures to rising AI use. 59% of internet consumers in U.S. households used AI tools in the first quarter of 2026, up from 40% in 2024. The data also showed that household use of AI applications grew roughly 2,000% year over year. The authors argued that broadband providers should move from reactive support to proactive, automated network management to keep pace.