Israeli Telecom Consumer Complaints Rise 9.5% in 2025 Amid Ongoing Conflict

Consumer complaints to Israel's telecommunications ombudsman increased by 9.5% in 2025, with a total of 7,913 inquiries handled. The rise is partly attributed to the ongoing conflict and Operation "Am K'Levie." Despite the increase, the average response time was 12 business days, and 100% of complaints were resolved. Telecom companies collectively returned 855,000 shekels to consumers, including a reservist charged 7,500 shekels and a customer who paid 16,600 shekels over eight years for services he did not purchase.

In the mobile sector, HOT Mobile led a new index measuring companies' willingness to resolve issues, compensate consumers, or fix deficiencies, even without explicit regulatory rulings. HOT Mobile resolved issues in favor of the consumer in 49% of undecided cases, followed by Wecom (42%) and Xfone (38%). Among internet providers, Bezeq International stood out with 87% of its complaints resolved, followed by YES (75%), and HOTnet and Xfone (55% each).

For fixed-line infrastructure and telephony, HOT Telecom led with 62% of complaints resolved, ahead of Bezeq (59%). The top five consumer concerns in 2025 were: repair times (16% of complaints), cellular reception quality (9%), service termination refusal (8%), overcharging contrary to agreement (7%), and joining fiber optic services (6%).

In terms of service quality per 10,000 subscribers, Partner led the mobile sector with 1.31 complaints and 17% justified complaints. Talzar followed with 1.48 complaints and 15% justified complaints, and Pelephone with 1.51 complaints and 17% justified complaints. Among general license internet providers, Triple C and YES had the fewest complaints, with 2.92 and 3.26 per 10,000 subscribers respectively; Triple C also reported 0% justified complaints. For fixed-line infrastructure, Partner led with 3.99 complaints per 10,000 subscribers, followed by Cellcom, Bezeq, and HOT Telecom.