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Australians spend $313M on excess mobile data a year – are you one of them?

Article By | | Technology Consulting

Deloitte has found in its 2017 Mobile Consumer Survey of over 2,000 Australians aged between 18-75 that they are struggling to keep to their mobile data caps.

With 43% of those interviewed by Deloitte saying their data limit is insufficient for their usage, and 56% of 25-34 year olds having exceeded their limit at least once, it’s apparent that current smart phone usage habits make it difficult to keep to these quotas.

Deloitte estimates that these Australians who are running over their quota are paying almost $30 million a month, and up to $313 million per year.

Increased smartphone adoption and usage may be a contributing factor to the majority of new phone plans in 2017 providing upwards of 3GB per month, but it appears Australians still want more from their operators.

While current quotas are reaching this point, the survey revealed that almost half of those who purchased their phone before 2013 are still on a quota of less than 1GB.

This highlights a bit of a trap when it comes to mobile plans: your provider may tell you you’re eligible for an upgraded phone, but not explicitly offer to upgrade your plan independently of your phone. Not taking the initiative to check if you can get more out of your plan can result in missing out on increased value.

Once your term ends, it’s a simple case of checking what the current BYO mobile plans are, or even keeping an eye out for promotional bonuses which occur often.

Doing so will allow you to more comfortably join the rising number of Australians picking up their phone to send that email, or stream that movie, rather than turning on the laptop or the TV.

If you’d like to confirm your business phone and data plans are giving you the best value for money, contact the Altitude Innovations Team for a full audit of your current costs.