04 April 2017
Data downloads on mobile devices increased by 69% in a year forcing Australian telco providers to respond with higher data allowances, revealed the ACCC in its 2017 Telecommunications Report.
We are getting more bang for our buck...or more accurately we are getting more data included in our plans.
Prices drop and data allowances rise
The ACCC report shows we paid slightly less for our mobile services, -1.8 per cent, in the financial year to 2016 and received more for our money, especially data download allowances which for postpaid mobile plans increased 30%.
The report shows that many of the changes transforming the sector in 2015-16 were driven by consumer demand, said ACCC Chairman, Rod Sims.
Prices for telecommunications services, which includes internet, mobile and fixed line services, fell overall by 1.5 per cent. Within this, prices for internet services increased by 2.7 per cent on average but this was accompanied by growing data allowances in many plans
“While some consumers may be paying more, they are also getting much more in terms of data allowances. Consumer demand for streaming services, cloud services, and increasingly content rich websites and social media applications is driving this growth in data consumption.”
ACCC to target Telecommunciations sector in 2017
Meanwhile the ACCC has announced that it will target the Telecommunications sector in 2017, particularly focusing on:
- consumer guarantees
- broadband advertising and download speed claims
Highlights of the ACCC Telecommunications Report Published 2017
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