It is ironic but the one issue that is dominating discussions in operators’ meeting rooms is also providing relief from another. It is true that mobile data usage has doubled in the past 18 months but it is also true that most customers in the UK pay for more than they actually use. So says BillMonitor.
The most common data package includes a bundle of 500 MB of data a month and yet the actual usage is closer to 100MB. Even those that BillMonitor describes as power users ‘only’ consume 250 MB per month.
Whether this means that operators are overestimating the usage needs, or whether customers are doing the same, remains to be seen. What is clear is that Bill Shock is an issue for both parties.
On the one hand, nervousness about spending too much is making customers cautious. On the other, operators are benefitting from customers not using the whole of their data allowance. Whether customers become bolder and use more as they begin to understand how much they can use their data on the go, or whether operators will need to re-think their pricing and bundling options remains to be seen.
What is clear is that it is another communications problem for communications providers.
Recent Comments