SINGAPORE :
The mobile phone is increasingly being used for a wide variety of
applications - from games, to Internet browsing, checking email and
personal banking.
According to some estimates, about 60 per cent of all mobile phone
users in Singapore do just that.
But some mobile phone users are finding it hard to track their data
usage - with many suffering from bill shock when their phone bills
are significantly higher than expected.
And market watchers said consumers are starting to fight
back.
They want greater transparency, and a survey shows that some 90 per
cent of users would like notification when their data limit has
been reached.
"I see users getting more control of service,... devices becoming
more intelligent,... (and) operators getting more capacity, so
eventually we will see prices decline from where they are today as
there are more capacity in the network as the devices are more
sophisticated. And we will start to see the prices reduced," said
Mark Williams, senior VP and GM, Acision.
Market watchers said the bill shock is a factor that could eat into
the telcos' bottom lines if not controlled. That's because a
consumer's first reaction to bill shock would be to stop using the
phone.
"I think there are a couple of things that are happening. One is
some operators are trying to launch or give some visibility to the
consumer of what is the maximum you would pay if you are roaming.
The next thing we see is a mix of pre-paid and post paid, so you
might be a post paid subscriber but when you go abroad or use a
data package, you could have a pre-paid," said Jayesh Easwaramony,
director, ICT Consulting & Head of Telecom, Frost &
Sullivan.
They said consumers may turn to other technologies such as video
conferencing and online communication alternatives to avoid bill
shock. - CNA /ls