Keith Shaw
Video Producer / Host of Today in Tech & DEMO

Mobile networks still stink, with more workers coming

News Analysis
Mar 30, 20172 mins

New survey says connectivity issues among top complaints for enterprises

mobile networks stink
Credit: Thinkstock

A new survey sponsored by NetMotion Software and WBR Digital shows that mobile network connectivity problems are the top reason for mobile-related trouble ticket submissions at enterprise companies. But that might not matter in terms of growth – as the same survey indicated that more than half the companies (56%) expected their mobile workforce to increase this year.

Despite Wi-Fi networks and mobile WAN (3G, 4G, etc.) being available for the better part of a decade or more, as well as mobile devices that have been in the hands of workers for almost the same amount of time, frustrations still exist when it comes to mobile networks. “Intermittent network connectivity or poor application stability can leave an employee cut off from essential information they need to do their jobs, leading to a frustrated worker and an unsatisfactory customer engagement,” the executive summary notes.

I recently spoke with Christopher Kenessey, CEO of NetMotion Software, about the survey and its implications on enterprise companies:

Some additional stats from the survey:

* 88% of respondents have their field service workers utilizing Wi-Fi networks, with 73% also reporting that workers use broadband carrier networks.

* The top mobile issues that companies encounter are quality of data service (65%), application performance issues (50%) and frequent user log-ins (38%). Other problems include having to diagnose unknown mobile issues, poor voice/video app experience, excessive data usage, unregulated application usage and roaming within and between networks.

* After deploying a mobile app, 60% of companies reported receiving up to 25 additional connectivity-related trouble tickets per week; 12% reported more than 75 trouble tickets per week.

* Most of the connectivity issues were around a dropped network (29%), but companies also experienced app crashes (19%), device malfunctions (17%) or employees needing explanations of functionality (17%).

Keith Shaw
Video Producer / Host of Today in Tech & DEMO

The first gadget Keith Shaw ever wanted was the Merlin, a red plastic toy that beeped and played Tic-Tac-Toe and various other games. A child of the '70s and teenager of the '80s, Shaw has been a fan of computers, technology and video games right from the start. He won an award in 8th grade for programming a game on the school's only computer, and saved his allowance to buy an Atari 2600.

Shaw has a bachelor's degree in newspaper journalism from Syracuse University and has worked at a variety of newspapers in New York, Florida and Massachusetts, as well as Computerworld and Network World. He won an award from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for a 2003 article on anti-spam testing, and a Gold Award in their 2010 Digital Awards Competition for the "ABCs of IT" video series.

Shaw is also the co-creator of taquitos.net, the crunchiest site on the InterWeb, which has taste-tested and reviewed more than 4,000 varieties of snack foods.

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