Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reader Forum section. In an attempt to broaden our interaction with our readers we have created this forum for those with something meaningful to say to the wireless industry. We want to keep this as open as possible, but we maintain some editorial control to keep it free of commercials or attacks. Please send along submissions for this section to our editors at: dmeyer@rcrwireless.com.
Operators have reacted to the swell in data usage with a variety of strategies that include volume-based tiers, usage caps, time-of-day usage pricing and data-speed throttling. While this may address the immediate challenge of preserving network integrity for the majority of users, it has also led to increased customer confusion and “bill shock,” higher support costs and, ultimately, higher customer churn.
Consumers find it difficult to understand data usage rates that are measured in gigabytes and megabytes. For example, how does a consumer distinguish between the data used while browsing Facebook and the data used while streaming music on Pandora? In addition, many consumers don’t know how to track their actual data usage on handsets or tablets, particularly when they are used as mobile hotspots. The measurement of data consumption is even more complex when an entire family is sharing a single broadband data connection. Likewise, small-business users face similar challenges when employees are given access to a shared mobile broadband connection. In any of these scenarios, an overage in data usage and the unexpectedly high bill that follows often result in irate consumers calling the operator’s customer care support number.
Data rate plan confusion and shared broadband connections are leading causes for bill shock. A recent Federal Communications Commission survey indicated that 30 million Americans at one time have experienced bill shock. Among these formal complaints by subscribers who experienced bill shock:
–84% said their cell carrier did not contact them when they were about to exceed their allowed minutes, text messages or data downloads.
–37% of them reporting increases of $50 or more, and nearly a quarter were charged over $100 extra.
–20% had complaints of $1,000 or more.
Extreme stories in which their children have exceeded data limits without their parents’ knowledge are frequently reported in the news. In one case, a woman traveling on a Caribbean cruise left her phone turned on, and that resulted in massive data charges as her Android phone polled repeatedly for new e-mail and received text messages. Often stories like these are sensationalized in the media, which leads to a tarnished image for the operator.
Certainly partial blame rests with consumers who don’t take the time or effort to make understanding their data plan a higher priority. But it’s often easier for the public to perceive that operators are intentionally making revenue from the excess charges, a stain that carriers would best avoid.
Usage transparency is certainly a key to alleviating data rate plan confusion and customer complaints. By providing subscribers with real-time monitoring of their data usage, carriers can help customers stay informed and in control of their bill. Many carriers have websites on which consumers can monitor usage, or provide mobile apps that can be downloaded to access this information. However, this approach places the burden on consumers to periodically check these tools to make sure they are not exceeding their plan limits.
A recent FCC ruling will soon require carriers to proactively notify consumers when they are approaching usage limits. The method likely used by carriers to affect this change will be to send consumers a text message notification or e-mail prior to exceeding a usage limit. Some carriers are doing this today, and while it does help bring awareness to actual data usage, it doesn’t alleviate the confusion over consumption rates or help consumers to control shared broadband connections.
Wireless carriers and consumers would both greatly benefit from a more comprehensive approach that helps subscribers easily see and manage data consumption across multiple devices, while making it easier for carriers to up-sell data services. And now they can. Through the use of embedded dashboards and usage controls on mobile broadband devices such as tablets, smartphones and dedicated mobile hotspots, subscribers can easily track consumption and set limits on data usage for any connected device. These limits can be based on data volume as well as time, and can be easily administered from the 3G device itself or from a connected laptop or PC.
Besides improving the customer experience, providing embedded data management applications also benefits operators by enabling subscribers to easily upgrade their data plans or “top-up” pre-paid data plans. Upgrading a data plan is not always an intuitive process, often requiring that a consumer call customer service or log in to a separate carrier billing website. The more steps required to purchase additional services, the less likely a consumer is to make the purchase. It’s in the best interest of the carrier to reduce these purchase barriers, and make the process of upgrading as simple and seamless as possible for the subscriber.
