At the Wireless Global Congress (WGC) APAC 2026 in Tokyo, Airties, a provider of AI-driven software for ISPs, has revealed findings from a commissioned consumer survey, independently conducted by Qualtrics, of more than 1,000 Japanese households.

The survey revealed a potential churn crisis for home ISPs in Japan: approximately one-quarter of households are considering switching providers in the near future, with quality of service being a decisive factor. Similar research, disclosed in December 2025, found that roughly one-third of consumers across the US and UK are considering switching ISPs in the near future. Even though the likelihood of churn is lower in Japan, it demonstrates the scale of churn risk within the country. Notably, the survey also found that up to 60 per cent of potential churn in Japan could be avoided by investing in better quality, features, and customer support, independent of pricing.

“Many Japanese households are silently suffering with real connectivity frustrations, and a stunning quarter of them are considering leaving their current Internet service provider in the near future,” said John Lancaster-Lennox, Executive Vice President and General Manager Asia Pacific at Airties. “Our research shows that Japanese consumers want ISPs to take more responsibility for the quality of their home Wi-Fi experience, and to provide a smarter managed service with advanced features that guarantee performance across apps and devices. Airties’ AI-driven connectivity software was designed to meet these expectations, provide better customer support, proactively mitigate churn risks, and improve customer satisfaction.”

Looming Risk for Japanese ISPs:

• 8 per cent of Japanese respondents said they changed their home ISP in the past 12 months, compared to 18 per cent in the US and 24 per cent in the UK.
• Only 21 per cent of Japanese consumers said they are very satisfied with their current home Internet experience.
• 51 per cent of Japanese consumers said they currently experience noticeable Wi-Fi or Internet problems occasionally, but only 18 per cent of respondents said they contacted their home ISP in the past 12 months because of a home Wi-Fi or Internet problem, which highlights a large segment of customers who endure issues silently.
• Looking ahead, despite the fact that 81 per cent think that changing their home ISP would be a hassle, 24 per cent of Japanese consumers said they are considering changing their home ISP in the near future. This compares to 28 per cent of consumers in the US and 37 per cent in the UK who are considering switching in the near future.
• Very dissatisfied consumers are 5 times far more likely to churn than very satisfied consumers: 61 per cent of respondents who are currently very dissatisfied with their ISPs are considering switching ISPs in the near future compared to 12 per cent of very satisfied customers who are considering switching ISPs in the near future.

Quality vs Price:

• Findings show that up to 60 per cent of potential churn in Japan could be avoided by investing in better quality, features and customer support, independent of pricing.
• Of those who are considering changing their home ISP in the near future, 38 per cent of Japanese respondents said the main reason they are considering changing is because they are unhappy with the quality of Wi-Fi or Internet in their home, vs 34 per cent because of pricing considerations. Similarly, 31 per cent of UK respondents and 42 per cent of US respondents cited poor Internet quality as the primary reason.
• The most frustrating issues pushing Japanese consumers to consider switching include devices disconnecting from Wi-Fi (49 per cent), video freezing or poor video quality (44 per cent), and slow website browsing (42 per cent).
• Of those considering changing ISPs, 13 per cent said the main reason was the desire for better features elsewhere. These respondents cited the following missing features from their current ISP that would make them consider changing to a new provider: cybersecurity to protect their devices from online threats (42 per cent); an easy mobile app to manage their home network (41 per cent); Wi-Fi that automatically improves its own speed and stability (36 per cent); and advanced parental controls and content filtering (23 per cent).
• Of those considering changing ISPs, 9 per cent said the main reason was they were unhappy with the customer support of their current ISP.
• Among Japanese consumers who switched ISPs in the past year, more than half (54 per cent) said they actually now pay the same or more than they did previously.

Consumers Want ISPs to Manage the Home Wi-Fi and are Willing to Pay

• Nearly two-thirds of Japanese consumers (65 per cent) said they would prefer their ISP to supply their home Wi-Fi router as part of their service with a guaranteed reliable connection, whereas 35 per cent said they would prefer to buy their own routers.
• 44 per cent of consumers expressed interest in a ‘Guaranteed or Smart Wi-Fi’ service that ensures strong coverage throughout the home and automatically fixes network issues remotely.
• Notably, 44 per cent said they would be willing to pay between ¥500 and ¥2,000 more per month for such a service, demonstrating a clear willingness to pay for reliable, high-quality connectivity.

Exceptional Connectivity and Prioritisation is Essential

• 23 per cent of Japanese households said they currently use one Wi-Fi extender, in addition to their main home Wi-Fi router in their homes, while 3 per cent said they have 2 extenders, and 1 per cent said they have 3 extenders.
• Japanese households depend heavily on Wi-Fi for daily activities, with video streaming (73 per cent), Wi-Fi calling (56 per cent), social media (55 per cent), and online gaming (30 per cent) as the leading activities placing demands on home networks.
• Japanese households want AI-driven network management: 76 per cent want Wi-Fi systems that automatically optimise performance for important activities, and 74 per cent want the ability to manually prioritise bandwidth themselves (such as via an app).

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Categories: Articles, Broadband, Consumer Behaviour, ISP, Research

Tags: Airties, ISP, japan, Wi-Fi