Data suggests operators around the globe need to be more flexible with their price plans.
It was once customary for UK networks to offer contracts for 12 or 18 months, but that time is fading away as operators are increasingly pushing customers to sign 24-month contracts.
Of course, there was also the enforcement of data restrictions which saw networks clamp down on unlimited data, instead offering their subscribers just 500MB a month to prevent excessive use.
Strategy Analytics is speaking at the Global Broadband Traffic Management Congress (BBTM) in London this week and reports that 56 per cent of smartphone users in the UK want the option to customise their tariffs, rather than being backed into a corner with a contract that doesn't suit their needs.
And the desire for operators to be more flexible spikes to 60 per cent in the US and 72 per cent in China.
Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, director of mobile broadband opportunities, said: "Traffic management today is as much about supporting new data pricing approaches as it is about handling traffic flows.
"In the highly competitive mobile broadband era, operators with innovative pricing models that engage customers and increase quality of experience will win."
The report follows a survey that said 72 per cent of Brits were unimpressed with Everything Everywhere's 4G price plans.
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