Blyk changes its tariff structure

Ad-funded MVNO Blyk has said it's changing its tariff structure next month. Gone is the free bundle of 217 texts and 43 minutes per month; instead the company will be giving its customers £15 of credit every month to spend on calls at 24p a minute or texts at 8p each. It means that customers can now send picture messages and use data as part of their allowance. [Source: Blyk.com; there's also in-depth commentary at MobileIndustryReview.com]

Data costs holding back mobile content growth

The cost of using mobile data is holding back growth in the European content market, according to mobile transaction company mBlox. They say UK consumers face charges of up to £10 to download a single song and recommend that networks adopt a ‘sender pays' business model to include data costs with purchases from their own online stores. [Press release]

French mobile costs cut by regulator

ARCEP, the French telecoms regulator, is cutting wholesale mobile termination rates by around 2 Euro cents per minute from next summer - and again the following year - with consumer call charges expected to fall as a result. [Sources: ARCEP pdf (French); BWCS.com]

EC moves closer to capping 'roaming' SMS charges

As anticipated, the Council of EU Telecoms Ministers has endorsed the European Commission's plans to reduce consumer charges for sending text messages and downloading data via mobile phones while 'roaming' abroad in the EU. If the plans (known as the Roaming II Agreement) are passed by the European Parliament in spring they could become law next summer. The EC's proposal includes:

• capping the cost of sending a text message at 11 Euro cents (excluding VAT),
• automatically sending an text message explaining the charges when you travel abroad,
• offering a pre-set limit for roamed data charges from 2010,
• further reducing the cost of 'roaming' voice calls in 2009 and 2010,
• introducing per-second billing after 30 seconds for all calls made, and
• introducing per-second billing for all calls received.

[Press release 1; Press release 2]

Wireless traffic could increase tenfold

Mobile network operators in developed regions should be ready for a tenfold increase in wireless network traffic by 2015, according to a new report from Analysys Mason. Its Wireless network traffic 2008–2015 report says data traffic is quickly overtaking voice, driven by factors that include USB modems, smartphones, affordable pricing and bigger downloads. Developed regions are expected to account for just 25% of mobile phone users by 2015 but will generate 65% of total global wireless network traffic. The average mobile user is expected to use eight times more data by 2015, rising from the current figure of 56MB per month to 455MB per month... although one forecast says this could be as much as a 23-fold increase, depending on circumstances. [Press release]

Most mobile users would view ads to cut bills

Business software company Transverse has published new research that says 61% of mobile phone users (in the USA) would view advertising on their phones if it meant their monthly bills were less. The figure varied according to the level of discount, with 56% happy to view ads for a discount of between 25 and 50%. In addition, 46% of users said this level of discount was enough of an incentive to provide access to their usage patterns. Users under the age of 35 were most receptive to the idea of discounts for viewing mobile advertising. [Press release]

Austrian mobile networks criticise EU roaming caps

Mobilkom Austria, T-Mobile Austria and Orange (Austria) have published research that shows the EC's capping of 'roaming' costs has led to significant losses and no significant increase in usage. They say the roaming regulation is having a negative effect on Austria's mobile industry. [Sources: Telecoms.com; TradingMarkets.com]

10% of mobile broadband customers say they were mis-sold

In the week that Vodafone was criticised by the ASA for its "light years ahead" mobile broadband advertisement and 3 admitted problems with its mobile broadband service, O2 has published research that says over one in ten mobile broadband users feel that they were mis-sold. The main source of irritation is the cost of the service, with nearly a third complaining that the ongoing cost was higher than expected. One-fifth were upset that they were unable to use mobile broadband where they wanted it despite being told that there would be coverage - and 13 per cent were frustrated there was no returns guarantee if the service wasn’t right for them. Needless to say there's a sales message in here. O2 has revamped its mobile broadband offering by cutting costs, creating a new coverage checker and offering a 50-day Happiness Guarantee. [Press release]

Expats spending more on mobiles than food

Mobile VoIP service provider Vyke says young Asian expats in the UK are spending more on mobile calls than they spend on food. Its recent survey says the majority of expats aged between 16 and 24 spend more on making mobile phone calls than they do on food, and a quarter of people who call abroad are spending over £60 a month on their mobile calls and texts. [Press release]

Ofcom expresses concerns about EC termination plans

Ofcom and the government Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform say that the European Commission's plans to cut termination rates could cause problems for people on low incomes. In a joint statement, the two organisations said cutting cross-network termination charges could result in lower bills for the caller but higher costs for the person receiving the call. This could mean that costs were increased, particularly for prepay tariffs. Ofcom added that it has already agreed mobile phone termination rates in the UK until 2011 and it is reluctant to alter those rates now. [Ofcom pdf document]

Wrong tariffs waste millions of pounds

Mobile phone price comparison site Omio.com says customers are wasting millions of pounds every month by paying for text and talk packages they don't need. 47% of those questioned in their survey were using less than half the minutes they were paying for, with 82% not reaching their monthly allocation of calls and texts. [Press release]

Vodafone criticised for not honouring contract clause

The Independent on Sunday says Vodafone has been refusing to release customers from their contracts if the company's new call charges result in their bills going up by over 10%... even though there's a contract clause that allows customers to quit immediately. Vodafone has told the newspaper that most customers aren't affected because they don't exceed their monthly call allowance - but it'll release customers whose bills are increasing by 10% or more.

EC unhappy with 'per minute' charges

The European Commission says it may restrict networks from charging 'per minute' for calls. EC spokesman Martin Selmayr said 'per minute' charging means the average consumer in Europe is paying 24% percent more than the minutes they actually use to make calls - and 19% more for receiving calls. Currently only France, Lithuania, Portugal and Spain have legislation requiring per-second billing, although some other countries also offer it. The GSM Association says the billing increment doesn't matter as long as consumers are aware. [Sources: EurActiv.com; EUobserver.com]

Asda cuts prepay costs

Supermarket chain ASDA has introduced a set of call charges for its prepay mobile phone service. It's cutting UK call charges to 8p a minute and texts to just 4p, saying this makes it Britain’s lowest-cost 'pay as you go' operator. Last week Ikea launched a mobile network with calls at 9p and texts at 6p. [Press release]

Vodafone price rise criticised

Vodafone has been criticised by the National Consumer Council for raising some of its prices without making the price rise clearer. Pay Monthly customers received a new price list with last month's bill although there was no explicit mention of an increase. Minimum call charges are going up by 25% from September and calls to 0800 and 0845 numbers will be rising by more than 30%. The cost for most UK calls to landlines and mobiles is unchanged. Some of the UK's other networks raised their charges earlier this year. [Source: BBC.co.uk]

Prepay 3G iPhone pricing revealed on O2 web site

Telecoms.com reports that O2 has unintentionally revealed the pricing for the prepay version of the 3G Apple iPhone on its web site, although the relevant page has now been removed. Users will apparently receive free WiFi and mobile data access for the first six months. They'll then be able to pay £10 a month to continue the service. The phone will be available from 11th July 2008.

O2 improves tariffs

O2 has improved all its 'pay monthly' tariffs, including the three dedicated iPhone tariffs. Existing Apple iPhone customers will be transferred to the new tariffs, which include more calls and texts within their monthly allowances.

They've also created a new unlimited flat-rate data tariff for £1 per day, which they describe thus: "As long as customers use our services as they are intended – for example, their fingers to text and their handset to browse – and do not affect quality for others, they can do as much as they like without having to worry. We believe we are the only company in the market to be so open around fair use**." Those two asterisks refer to an 'excessive use' policy that excludes business use, 'continuous' streaming, VoIP, file sharing and putting your SIM card in anything other than your O2 phone. And remember to only use your fingers to text, eh?
[Press release]

UK mobile customers could be wasting £8 billion a year

Online financial comparison website Moneysupermarket.com says mobile phone customers could be wasting £8 billion a year because they don't know enough about their tariffs. The company said users often don't know how much they use their phone or many minutes or texts are included in their monthly package, which could result in an individual customer paying £130 too much in a year. One in seven customers didn't know how many free minutes they had, while one in six didn't know how many texts were included in their monthly line rental. [Source: BBC News]