A Nielsen research carried out in the 10 Indian cities, covering a population of nearly 100 million people, states that 42 percent of Indian subscribers rate network performance as very important for selecting their mobile operator.

In fact, with 34 percent of votes, network driven choice is ahead of price driven choice. After initial selection, satisfaction with network performance is the single most important driver for shaping overall satisfaction with the operator. Over 50 percent of the variation in satisfaction levels across operators is determined by the variation in their network performance.

Shankari Panchapakesan, executive director, Telecom Practice Group, said: "There is an opportunity for an operator to get ahead of its competition and create a nationally or regionally differentiated network position in the market by using the competitive benchmarks to guide their investments."

"Nielsen studies across the world show rising consumer expectations from wireless networks, even as their calling patterns and demands from the network increase over time. As the market grows and newer services are introduced, to retain the current high levels of satisfaction and to remain competitive, Indian operators need to be on top of the changing expectations of their subscribers," continued Panchapakesan.

Nielsen's Consumer Insights research measures metrics such as satisfaction, willingness to recommend, reasons for churn and reasons for operator selection. Nielsen's Best Practice Reliability metric indicates that there is room for improvement particularly in India's Tier I markets.

The research found that some operators enjoy a higher perception of their network compared to actual performance, creating a risk to their business. Conversely, the perception of network quality of some operators lag their actual network performance, creating an opportunity for them to educate subscribers via advertising and seek their rightful share of network-driven acquisitions.