Managing your megabytes – how fear of data charges is driving mobile users to WiFi

Our research has found that mobile broadband operators risk losing revenue, or are failing to optimise network investments, because their data charges are unclear and because alternatives such as WiFi are becoming easier to access and are often free.

We surveyed 627 owners of mobile devices who connect via mobile broadband. Our findings included:

  • 48% of consumers don’t know how much data they use a month
  • 84% don’t know the cost of going outside their data allowance
  • 45% will restrict their usage to try to stay within their allowance.

These statistics indicate that an operator which provides clarity on charging to customers would be clearly differentiated from its competitors.