Spanning across 31 markets and 15,700+ respondents, the study utilizes the HELP framework to pinpoint where value leaks: weak first-contact resolution, unclear price/value communication, service-focused telco apps and under-utilized loyalty programs. It also sheds light on how to close those gaps with focused execution. 

Making customer happiness non-negotiable

The study places the global telco Net Promoter Score (NPS) at 14, indicating room for improvement. Regional results vary: Southeast Asia and the Middle East lead with NPS above 30, while parts of Europe show a larger share of unhappy customers. Rather than using a “one-size-fits-all” approach, operators should tailor interventions by market. For example, in lower-NPS markets, operators must prioritize first-contact resolution via routing, agent enablement, and FCR. Whereas, in higher-NPS markets, protecting momentum with proactive service updates and clearer price-for-value communication becomes essential.

“Treat every interaction as a value moment,” says Kajetan Zwirglmaier, Partner at Simon Kucher. “When operators fix the basics, including high levels of first call resolution and clear value messaging, they earn the right to up- and cross sell.” Today, this is not the case, as only 36% of issues can be solved in the first call, while ~50% of customers perceive telco services as expensive.

Turning engagement into tangible customer value

Customers who do engage with service channels show 19% higher customer lifetime value (CLTV) than those who never contact their operator, provided issues are resolved efficiently. While it always seemed intuitive to avoid customer interactions, our study indicates that constant engagement achieves the opposite: After two unresolved interactions per year, satisfaction drops, however, with 10+ service touchpoints it rebounds to similar levels as without any interactions at all.

Telco app usage is the natural gateway. Today, 81% of subscribers use their provider’s app and 52% do so weekly, making it a crucial platform to engage with customers. Yet, nearly half still use it primarily for administrative tasks. The untapped potential is to fold context based offers, such as one day data boosts and device insurance trials, into the app experience with one click purchase flows and AI driven personalization.

“Engagement is the bridge from satisfaction to value,” says Alexander Zimm, Senior Director at Simon Kucher. “Using telco app and service touchpoints as sales opportunity will enable a higher openness to new services, if they are relevant and timely.”

Loyalty pays, without price erosion

The Global Telco Study 2025 shows that 95% of CLTV comes from customers with three or more years of tenure, who already represent about 75% of the base, making loyalty or retention economics superior to acquisition. As a baseline, mobile CLTV averages €2,000 at roughly six years of tenure, while broadband CLTV is about 43% higher thanks to elevated ARPUs. 
Loyalty programs are the single strongest engagement to loyalty converter in the framework. While 80% of operators offer a program, only about half of customers are enrolled. Streamlining in-app enrollment, combining monetary and non monetary rewards through priority support, and using gamification can raise activation and ongoing usage without conditioning customers to discounts alone. 

A focused playbook for the near-future

Telcos don’t need another transformation slogan. They need focus: fixing first-contact resolution, sharpening value messaging, supported by telco apps and loyalty programs. Engagement then becomes the bridge to loyalty, and loyalty the foundation to monetize.

Simon-Kucher’s Global Telecommunications Study 2025 establishes that sequencing these basics and tracking them alongside ARPU and churn leads to closing the 40% value and turning faster networks into faster growth.

Download the full study for market benchmarks and relevant regional insights.