every day from angry customers wondering why their devices aren’t working well. And in many cases, those providers have to spend hundreds of dollars (or pounds or euros) to send a truck around to make sure that there isn’t a problem with the actual connection. And there usually isn’t.

The scope of the bandwidth problem

People used to talk about the “last-mile problem” to describe connectivity issues, but the issue is most often inside the four walls of the home. In other words, it’s a Wi-Fi issue, not an ISP issue. So, what can people do to fix their Internet speed issues? As it turns out, they can do a lot.

Every new device added to a home network comes with new requirements and increases the opportunity for a bad subscriber experience. Once a home network hosts more than six or seven devices, our research shows that it’s likely that at least one device will suffer from a bad connection. Today, that is a common number because people have so many smart devices ranging from doorbells to electric car charging stations in their homes.

Because up to half of support engagements for ISPs can be traced back to problems with the home Wi-Fi setup, rather than with the lines or equipment itself, ISPs can dramatically reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction by helping to prevent these problems, and by diagnosing and resolving them more efficiently. According to our data, about 25 percent of diagnostic scans reveal that there is a less congested Wi-Fi channel available and 30 percent indicate an underlying problem of signal strength, even if there are no issues with the home Internet connection.

The bandwidth problem fix

Unfortunately, many ISPs struggle to cost-effectively diagnose Wi-Fi issues because they don’t have visibility into the home network. Regardless of the size of their subscriber bases, ISPs must contend with a diverse mix of customer premises equipment (CPE)—which undermines attempts to gain consistent and universal visibility. In addition, large portions of the subscriber base elect to purchase third-party equipment, all but assuring that CPE-based diagnostics will suffer from coverage problems. Taking an aggregate view of millions of in-home network diagnostic scans led us to two conclusions.

The first is that because such a large proportion of support engagements—as much as 50 percent, for some ISPs—can be traced back to problems with the home Wi-Fi setup, ISPs can dramatically reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction (CSAT) by helping to prevent these problems in the first place and, when they do arise, by diagnosing and resolving them more efficiently.

It is also clear that universal, understandable, and convenient diagnostics are essential both for enabling subscriber self-service utilities and for equipping service agents with essential information. It’s time for ISPs to accept that for a number of reasons, including some completely beyond their control, CPEs are not addressing this need—and perhaps never will.

Diagnostics to the rescue

In many cases, a lengthy, costly, and frustrating engagement uncovers that the underlying issue was within the home network: a congested channel, a weak Wi-Fi, signal, outdated equipment, or some other common cause. What is needed is a diagnostic tool that is universally applicable to any home network, regardless of CPE, delivers clear insights that any support agent—and as many subscribers as possible—can understand, and is easy to use so that practically any subscriber can activate it.

Combined with educational self-service resources about common home network issues and potential resolutions, a proactive approach to Wi-Fi management and efficient diagnostics capabilities can transform the traditional support relationship—ultimately slashing ISP support costs and contributing to greater subscriber satisfaction.