What are the key performance drivers reshaping the global telco industry?
Telcos today are capturing just 60% of their customer value potential, leaving lifetime value unrealized. With acquisition costs rising and ARPU declining, this approach appears unsustainable. The opportunity lies not in chasing the next subscriber, but in realizing more value from the customers you already serve.
Our Global Telecommunications Study 2025, based on insights from 15,700+ consumers across 31 markets, reveals what separates leaders from laggards. Through our proprietary HELP framework (Happiness, Engagement, Loyalty, Paying), our experts share how operators can systematically transform customer experience into customer lifetime value and sustainable growth.
Happiness is the first revenue lever
In closing the satisfaction gap.
Customer happiness is a revenue engine. Globally, telcos average 5.7/10 on Happiness and with an average NPS of 14 the industry is well below other sectors. Every 10-point NPS increase can lift revenue by roughly one to three percentage points.
Priorities for telcos must include strengthening price/value perception, improving first-contact resolution (currently achieved in 36% of cases), proactively supporting high-ARPU customers at higher churn risk, and delivering seamless multi-channel service. For a deeper dive, read part one of our blog series here.
Engagement drives 19% higher CLTV
Every interaction counts.
Engagement is the highest-performing but the most underutilized HELP pillar, averaging 7.7/10 globally. Three levers matter most: service touchpoints, telco app usage, and loyalty program participation. Customers who interact through service touchpoints show 19% higher CLTV than non-contactors. 81% use their provider app (about half still mainly for admin tasks) and loyalty program participation is associated with a 43% CLTV uplift.
The opportunity lies in optimizing first-contact resolution, elevating the app as a sales channel, and simplify loyalty enrolment and rewards. For a deeper dive, read part two of our blog series here.
Future-proof your growth
By extending tenure and elevating ARPU
Global telcos capture only 60% of their full customer value potential. Loyalty (tenure) averages 6.6/10 and Paying (ARPU) averages 4.3/10. 95% of CLTV comes from customers with 3+ years of tenure, who also spend 7% more than newly acquired subscribers, underscoring the ROI of retention over acquisition.
Are you keeping customers long enough? Operators can raise ARPU by clarifying portfolio differentiators, modernizing VAS with context-based micro-offers, introducing alternative handset models, and pairing convergence with premium non-monetary benefits rather than heavy discounts. For a deeper dive, read part three of our blog series here.
Outlining the core changes in current trends / critical levers to grow telco business
Simon-Kucher Director Alex Zimm introduces the recent telco study results and introduces the Simon-Kucher HELP index for Happy, Engaged, Loyal, Paying customers.
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