Parks Associates’ consumer research finds internet service providers (ISPs) are the dominant channel for home networking equipment, with 71 per cent of US consumers with home Internet reporting that they received their router/gateway from their ISP.

The research, from the firm’s Home Networking Products: Mesh, Wi-Fi 7, and the Competitive Landscape examines consumer awareness of and demand for home networking products and services.

The research of 8,000 US Internet households addresses ownership of home networking equipment and demand for new router/gateway features and functions. Historically, more consumers reported owning their own router than leasing or renting one, but this trend reversed in the 2022/2023 time period. This coincides with the launch of Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 routers, which tend to be more expensive than previous technologies.

“Customers look to their ISP for their home networking equipment, looking for free product offers, leasing and financing agreements, and product discounts. ISP white-labeled routers are the number one ‘brand’ consumers report purchasing, with satisfaction as measured by NPS above the industry average,” said Kristen Hanich, Research Director, Parks Associates. “Consumers are looking for devices that deliver key features and functionality and increasingly see ISPs as a preferred channel.”

Other research highlights from the study:

• The routers and gateways provided by ISPs and white-labeled from leading providers such as Vantiva/Technicolor are popular among consumers, with those reporting owning and using an ISP brand also reporting an NPS for their home Internet service provider three times greater than the overall NPS for home Internet service providers.
• Leading consumer solutions such as the Amazon eero and Nest Wifi are associated with high rates of satisfaction.
• The TP-LINK family of devices are prized by consumers for their robust feature set at a low cost.
• About one-third of home network router owners report having a mesh system, with just over one-half of these also having a pod or node.

Adoption of mesh networking products has stalled among US Internet households, with 6 and 6E generation routers and gateways offering enough coverage and performance that many customers do not yet see the need to improve with additional mesh nodes/pods.

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Categories: Articles, Broadband, Equipment, Equipment, Research

Tags: Amazon, broadband, Parks Associates, VANTIVA, wifi