Ericsson Survey Points To Paid 5G Reliability Demand In Philippines
Ericsson ConsumerLab found 60% of Philippine 5G users see moments requiring guaranteed connectivity, while 36% would pay extra as AI use raises responsiveness expectations.
60% of Philippine 5G users identified situations where they need guaranteed service, and 36% would pay extra for it, according to Ericsson ConsumerLab research reported by Back End News.
The figures put the Philippines well above the global benchmark.
Across the wider survey, 40% of 5G users identified moments when an assured connection mattered, compared with six in 10 in the Philippine sample.
The company estimated that paid quality options could add revenue equal to as much as two months of average revenue per subscriber for local mobile operators.
The commercial idea is not a replacement for ordinary mobile data.
It points to a second layer of offers in which a user buys better-assured performance for a specific activity, either as part of a plan or as an add-on.
Among Philippine 5G users, 36% preferred buying those options from their own mobile provider, while 25% were open to purchasing them through other apps.
The research base covered both local and international behavior.
The study surveyed 43,000 smartphone users in 27 markets, including about 34,000 active 5G users.
Its Philippine fieldwork included 1,500 consumers, 900 of them active 5G subscribers, and the company said those local findings represent 46 million smartphone users.
Interviews were conducted during the June-August 2025 period with respondents ages 15-69.
Demand for responsiveness is tied to changing app behavior.
Across the study, daily use of multimodal AI tools that handle text, images, video or other formats is expected to rise from 16% to 32% by 2030, and 44% of AI activity already happens while users are on the move.
Video-based AI use is expected to climb from 22% to 51%.
The report found that response speed affected satisfaction with mobile networks among smartphone AI users at twice the level seen among other 5G subscribers.
Daniel Ode, who heads Ericsson Singapore, Brunei and Philippines, linked the premium-pay interest to demand for uninterrupted connectivity during critical moments and to the spread of on-the-go AI and multimodal apps.
Network APIs are one route for turning that demand into sellable products.
The study describes them as software tools that let apps request the connection quality they require from a telecom operator, which could let Philippine providers sell upgrades inside apps as well as through mobile plans.
The upside remains conditional: 36% of Philippine 5G users indicated a willingness to pay, but the estimate is not revenue operators have already captured.
