- Netsonda study for DE-CIX in Portugal reveals that 40% of respondents are willing to wait no more than 10 seconds before abandoning, refreshing, or retrying an online activity due to Internet speed delays.
- Work and professional activities, along with online transactions, are the areas where delays, freezes, or brief Internet disconnections are considered least acceptable.
Lisbon (Portugal). Four out of ten Portuguese Internet users (42%) say they have abandoned an online activity in the past month due to poor performance, according to a study conducted by Netsonda on behalf of DE-CIX among 600 Internet users in Portugal. Consumer frustration is also high, particularly when interruptions affect important activities. Three out of four respondents (76%) say they find it frustrating to experience network outages during important work or leisure activities despite paying for a premium Internet service.
Slow-loading webpages or applications (51%), brief connection drops (46%), and video streaming issues (36%) are the three most frequently reported problems. Other issues include video or audio freezing during personal, professional, or school-related calls, as well as severe delays when playing online games.
“Consumers are increasingly looking beyond speed when assessing the quality of their Internet experience,” said Ivo Ivanov, CEO of DE-CIX. “As digital services become a bigger part of everyday life, consistency and responsiveness matter more than ever. A positive online experience depends not only on bandwidth, but also on factors such as latency and the quality of the underlying network infrastructure.”
The study also shows that consumers are becoming less tolerant of slow digital services. More than half of respondents (53%) say they have less patience for slow or unresponsive digital services than they did five years ago.
This impatience is particularly evident during critical online moments. Internet delays, glitches, or brief disconnections are considered unacceptable by 65% of respondents during work or professional activities, 63% during online transactions, and 56% during real-time personal communications.
The Netsonda study further shows that online payments or transactions, video calls, and general web browsing are the services for which users expect the fastest response times, with around half expecting an almost immediate response – within two seconds – for each of these activities.
When an online service is slow, unresponsive, or freezes, nearly half of respondents try refreshing the webpage, restarting the application, or checking their Internet connection, making these the most common responses to Internet disruptions. Men are more likely than women to continue waiting for the service to respond (38% vs. 30%).
“The findings show that consumers are becoming less tolerant of disruptions during important online moments,” said Ivanov. “Whether they are working, managing everyday tasks, or staying connected with others, people increasingly expect online experiences to be responsive and reliable. As digital services become more deeply embedded in daily life, reliable connectivity is no longer a premium feature. It has become an essential expectation.”
The results of the Netsonda study also reveal consumer interest in solutions that prioritize stability over speed. Nearly half of respondents expressed interest in a “Zero Lag Guarantee,” and 56% consider such a guarantee more attractive than higher download speeds. However, only 10% would be willing to pay more per month for this type of service. Meanwhile, 35% would be willing to switch service providers to obtain such a guarantee, and 25% would accept a reduction in maximum speed while keeping their current monthly fee.
About the study: The quantitative study was conducted by Netsonda through online questionnaires with a representative sample of Portuguese consumers aged 18 or older who are active Internet users with Fiber to the Home (FTTH) connections and reside in Portugal. A total of 600 interviews were conducted, corresponding to a margin of error of +/- 4.0%. Data was collected between May 11 and 20, 2026.
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