Arcep has just published the 2024 edition of its customer satisfaction observatory in France. A value barometer which allows you to know which operators best satisfy their subscribers.
The Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Posts and Press Distribution (Arcep) has just published the results of the 2024 edition of its customer satisfaction observatory, which determines the satisfaction of subscribers to a fixed and mobile network with the main telecom operators, namely Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free. The survey was carried out at the end of 2023 by the IFOP institute on a representative sample of the population. It aims to determine there satisfiedgeneral screw ion–has–towards fixed and mobile operators, Lhas satisfaction–has–regarding their customer service, satisfaction with the quality of service from the main fixed and mobile operators, and a typology of the problems encountered.
Customer satisfaction: Orange and Free in the lead, SFR last
We first notice that the overall satisfaction of subscribers to their fixed and mobile networks remains stable compared to the previous year, with an average of 7.6 and 7.8 out of 10 respectively. Subscribers are therefore more satisfied with the quality of their mobile network than that of their fixed network, and this among all operators. Unsurprisingly, Orange and Free are doing well, with an average satisfaction rate of 7.8/10 for the first and 7.7/10 for the second. Next come Free, with 7.5/10, and SFR, dead last with only 7.3/10. The classification is the same whether we are interested in the activity of mobile operator or Internet access provider.
Concerning the mobile network, the average satisfaction of users with operators reached 7.8, like the previous year. Orange and Free are tied for first place with 8 points each. They are therefore well ahead of Bouygues Telecom and its 7.7 points as well as SFR and its average of 7.4. For Internet, Orange and Free are again tied with 7.8/10. A great feat for the alternative operator, who is not letting up his efforts! Once again, Bouygues Telecom with 7.3 and SFR with 7.1 are well behind. In total, the average satisfaction level with the quality of the fixed network is 7.7. Note, however, that in both areas, SFR managed to gain 0.1 points compared to last year. Unfortunately, the operator is the one having accumulated the most customers declaring “have encountered at least one problem in the last 12 months”. Bad news which adds to its significant debt, its flight of customers and suspicions of corruption at the level of its management. It’s hardly surprising that rumors about the sale of the company are rife!
Best customer service: Orange and Bouygues Telecom dominate
55% of users surveyed by Arcep say they encounter problems with their ISP regarding fixed networks. Note, however, that if we exclude the reason for “unwanted telephone canvassing” – because this is not really attributable to the operators – we rise to 49%. The rate is 35% for the mobile part. Poor quality of network service is among the main problems encountered by users, particularly on fixed networks, followed by contractual and billing problems. On a more secondary level, customers also face subscription and connection problems. Note that the reason for dissatisfaction “fraud and unwanted calls”, although not entirely attributable to the operators, is very present.
The study highlights the importance of operators’ customer service, which makes it possible to resolve 8 out of 10 problems encountered. In this area, Orange is the best, with a score of 6.6. As for other operators, we are at 6.5 for Bouygues Telecom, 6.2 for Free, and 6 for SFR, always dead last. Overall, there has been a decline in the quality of customer service compared to the previous year, which is a shame.
The report also looks at the case of the “I alert Arcep” platform, which is receiving more and more reports. Launched in 2017, it allows individuals, businesses and communities to alert the organization of fixed, mobile, Internet and postal malfunctions encountered in their relationships with operators. The vast majority of alerts received concern the telecommunications sector, and more particularly fixed Internet. Thus, more than 82% of the reports received concern fixed Internet, including dissatisfaction linked to the deployment of optical fiber. As for mobile networks, even if the number of alerts is smaller, the latter is still up sharply compared to 2023, with +23%.