TPG Telecom CEO Iñaki Berroeta calls ‘unlimited’ data like Vodafone Infinite ‘the future’

Everyone’s data allowance is different and it can quickly get expensive if you exceed it – but pretty soon you’ll be able to start ignoring it altogether.

The included monthly data allowance on your mobile phone plan always seems like it’s a few gigabytes short of what you really need as the end of your billing cycle approaches, but according to one of Australia’s biggest telcos, you won’t have to worry much longer.

The CEO of TPG Telecom, the company formed by the recently approved merger of Vodafone and TPG, Iñaki Berroeta, has told an audience of telecommunications industry heavyweights that unlimited mobile data plans are “the way of the future”.

He said TPG Telecom was leading “the move towards unlimited mobile data plans” with the recent launch of “Infinite” data plans on Vodafone.

Vodafone recently launched ‘Infinite’ data plans.

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The Infinite plans were introduced in September and give you unlimited data (though once you pass the allotted data amount your speed is throttled to a 3G-esque 2Mbps on the cheapest plans all the way up to an NBN-grade 25Mbps on the most expensive).

“As data usage and speeds continue to increase, we see this as the way of the future,” Mr Berroeta told the CommsDay Summit on Tuesday morning.

“Mobile data has been consistently increasing around 40 to 50 per cent each year,” he said.

While usage is increasing, caps on the amount of data you can use remain common for mobile phone plans, and they can quickly get expensive if you go over your allowed amount.

Telcos often charge around $10 per additional gigabyte if you go over your allowance.

Mr Berroeta said the company had “always wanted” to offer unlimited data but could only do it now that the merger was going ahead, combining Vodafone’s mobile and TPG’s fixed-line infrastructure.

Iñaki Berroeta is the CEO of TPG Telecom, recently formed by the merger of Vodafone and TPG. Picture: Adam Yip

While the ACCC initially opposed the merger amid fears it would result in worse outcomes for consumers, TPG and Vodafone argued they needed to combine their resources to better compete with Telstra and Optus to foster competition and provide better outcomes for consumers, and it looks like that’s what is actually happening.

Optus doesn’t yet offer unlimited data on any of their mobile plans, even with restrictions past a certain data allowance.

Telstra does offer an unlimited data plan, but it costs $199 a month which equates to at least $4776 over the life of the minimum 24-month contract.

Vodafone’s plans start at $40 for unlimited data that drops to speeds of 2Mbps after a 10GB allowance, $55 for 60GB then 10Mbps, and $120 for 150GB then 25Mbps.

“Of course, we would have preferred for it to happen a lot sooner. But as a fully integrated company, we can now maximise the use of our infrastructure to deliver the products, services and competition that Australians want and need,” Mr Berroeta said.

Vodafone’s Infinite plans that offer unlimited mobile data.

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Vodafone will also be looking to compete with the two bigger telcos with an NBN-rivalling home internet product.

Optus was the first to introduce 5G Home Internet, which will use the 5G mobile networks rolling out in Australia to provide unlimited data at speeds faster than the most popular NBN plans at roughly the same price.

There’s also no need to rearrange your life around technician appointments because 5G modems are plug-and-play and don’t require installation outside of taking it out of the box and turning it on.

This makes them particularly attractive for Australia’s growing population of renters as well (though the products are restricted to a small number of premises currently).

Streaming music and video can quickly eat away at your allowed data, but caps won’t exist in the future, according to the TPG boss.

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Telstra recently announced plans to offer a 5G home wireless solution of its own and Mr Berroeta said on Tuesday that TPG would begin offering 5G fixed wireless products in the first half of next year, which he said “will take our fixed wireless offering to a new level and provide customers with further choice”.

As Optus and Telstra have done, Mr Berroeta said its fixed wireless offering was intended to complement and not compete with the NBN, before going on to call for the NBN to be made cheaper for telcos to access at the wholesale level.

“As the second largest NBN retailer, the delivery of NBN services is, and will continue to be, a critical part of our business,” Mr Berroeta said.

“However, to unleash the full potential of the NBN for households, we need a sustainable pricing model.”

He likened the capacity charge telcos have to pay on top of the wholesale bundle price to support the customers on their plans to “driving a lap at Bathurst stuck in second gear”, calling for “its removal and replacement with a flat-rate wholesale charge”.

Last week, the NBN announced the prices of some wholesale bundles would be lowered for telcos, but chief customer officer Brad Whitcomb told news.com.au that “it’s up to the retailers to set the retail price”.

Telco industry peak body Communications Alliance welcomed the announcement but a spokesperson had “nothing further to add” when asked if NBN customers could expect to see the savings passed on by their retail service provider.