Australians can get cheaper smartphone deals, ACCC report says

TELCO competition has intensified with providers rolling out cheaper plans than ever before as they battle each other to lure customers. These are the best deals.

SMARTPHONE addicts are enjoying cheaper deals to stay connected as prices fall on device deals, a new report has revealed.

Competition in the telco industry has intensified resulting in providers rolling out cheaper plans as they battle each other in luring new customers.

MOBILES: Unlimited mobile phone data deals arrive in Australia

The competition watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, today released its report into competition and price changes in 2016-17 and found the number of people relying solely on a mobile to stay connected soared from 5.8 million to 6.7 million.

Telstra remains the dominant force in the market.

The costs of mobile services and fixed and wireless broadband has fallen giving users some reprieve to their hip pockets.

The report found Telstra remains the dominant force with the largest slice of the mobile market at 43 per cent, followed by Optus at 28 per cent, Vodafone at 18 per cent and then the smaller players (MVNOs — mobile virtual network operators) at 11 per cent.

MOBILES: Cheap phone deals from $10 rolled out for consumers

There are now more prepaid plans available than postplans with a lower price tag attached.

The report said, “Plans priced below $20 accounted for around 20 per cent of prepaid plans compared to 13 per cent of postpaid plans.”

Families can enjoy lower prices on mobile phone and broadband services.

As for deals at lower end of the scale — a $10 price point — there’s now eight service providers with these offers ranging from periods of one week, to one month to several months.

Telco comparison website’s WhistleOut’s spokesman Kenny McGilvary said the latest findings revealing cheaper deals for smartphone users was a big win for consumers.

“New deals are constantly becoming available and sometimes only run for a matter of weeks, so it really pays to check what’s available before you buy,’’ he said.

“The good news is there are lots of options to choose from so you can get a plan that best fits what you want.”

Shop for your mobile phone plan. Marc Menz changed plans 5 times in 2016 and started saving $130 a month.

The report found the following overall price drops across various services:

Mobile services: Annual price decrease of 3.1 per cent.

Fixed broadband: Annual price decrease of 9.4 per cent.

Wireless broadband: Annual price decrease of 6.7 per cent.

Consumer group Choice’s spokesman Tom Godfrey said the reductions to prices for consumers was great to see.

“Choice welcomes news Australians are paying less for some telco services including the National Broadband Network,’’ he said.

“Whether it’s purchasing a phone or internet plan, consumers want to get what they paid for.”

But there has been some price pain for customers — the real price of prepaid mobile plans increased by 2.4 per cent — often related to higher end deals above $60 per month, whereas price falls were linked to lower-priced categories below the $60 mark.

As for sucking data, Aussies are chewing it more than ever before.

Overall data downloads for fixed and mobile broadband services increased by 43 per cent June 2016 and June 2017 quarters.

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@sophieelsworth