Caps off to Aussie 'app cap' initiative
Australian mobile consumers need to take steps to monitor their data usage on smartphones and manage their spending to avoid bill shock. That’s the message relayed by Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) Chief Executive Chris Althaus on national ABC Radio this week.
He was commenting on a media report that a mobile service provider has flagged putting in place a voluntary “app cap” to cut off smartphone users’ internet access when they have reached their data allowance limit on their mobile phone plan.
Mr Althaus said the mobile telecommunications industry was committed to educating consumers about plans, caps and spending limits, including the importance of taking steps to monitor usage of mobile services and resultant expenditure.
Consumer awareness of mobile service usage is also very important given the rapidly growing demand for mobile data services such as mobile broadband.
“It is in no one’s interest to have customers in debt as a result of unexpectedly high bills – so industry is actively promoting consumer awareness in this regard,” Althaus said.
“Mobile operators offer a number of self-help tools to assist consumers keep track of their usage and spending on a range of services. These are free online accounts allowing them to monitor their usage on a daily basis,” he said.
“Consumers should check with their service provider to see if they offer a service to contact them if their expenditure is particularly high compared to previous bills. They can also request the barring of some services at the network level.
“Consumers can also ask if they offer an SMS notification service that lets them know when they have reached 80% or 100% of their cap. Some providers offer free text services that consumers can use to monitor their usage.”
A recent paper from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found 57% of mobile cap users did not monitor their expenditure between bills, 33% of users said they “cannot be bothered” in monitoring their spending, 19% said they did not exceed their cap and 26% had “low usage”. Only 4% reported they “don’t know how”.
AMTA’s consumer tips on these issues can be found here.
Posted
08-13-2010 5:41 PM
by
Tony Poulos