Kiwi Mobile, a new mobile challenger, wants Kiwis to stop getting ripped off paying for unused mobile data. They are making it better by launching an Endless mobile plan where you get all the fast data you need, but you only pay for what you use.
Research shows Kiwis on postpaid plans have an average of 6.7GB of unused mobile data left over every month - that’s 72.4 million gigabytes going to waste every year1. With over half (59%) of those Kiwis paying for more data than they need1, it’s unsurprising that 68% of Kiwis want more flexibility in their mobile plans2.
Kiwi Mobile Chief Executive Luke Blincoe says Kiwi Mobile’s purpose is to improve things for Kiwis. It knows Kiwis are willing to pay more to ensure they always have the fast data they need but with Kiwi Mobile, they no longer need to pay a premium for peace of mind.
“We’ve made things flexible - you can be confident you’ll never run out of data while only paying for data as you need it,” Blincoe says. “No more being ripped off by paying for unused data. It’s pretty cool and we think Kiwis are going to love it”.
Kiwi Mobile’s market-first Choice plan begins at $1.30 per day with 5GB of max-speed data. When a customer has used all of their max-speed data, they can continue with endless data at slower speeds or level up to another max-speed data tier by increasing their daily rate for the remainder of the billing cycle. There are five tiers, allowing customers to use up to 100GB of max-speed data each month.
Kiwi Mobile gives Kiwis control of how much data they pay for rather than forcing them into a mobile plan with inflexible data thresholds. Blincoe says the big New Zealand telcos' pay-monthly mobile plans are strategically positioned to make Kiwis pay for more data than they need. Even ‘rollover’ plans require Kiwis to pay for data upfront before it’s needed or eventually expires. It’s deliberately confusing, he says.
“We’ve estimated inflexible data thresholds are costing Kiwis on postpaid plans upwards of $400 million annually in wasted data3. Our Choice plan will start pulling that number way down.”
Kiwi Mobile hopes to lift the lid on mobile data costs and the tactics used by the big New Zealand telcos encouraging Kiwis to commit to more data than they need.
“The big guys are highly incentivised to get people to part with more money - because the actual cost of delivering more data is pretty marginal for them. We are incentivised to make things better and that’s exactly what we intend to do,” Blincoe says.
The Commerce Commission’s draft guidelines for telecommunications providers highlighted the tactics of confusion. Announced last year, the guidelines called on providers to increase transparency about their prices and coverage so consumers can make better decisions about the best plan for their needs.
Kiwi Mobile’s online calculator shows the cost of a Kiwi Mobile plan based on your average monthly data usage.
In line with the Commerce Commission’s draft guidelines, Kiwi Mobile’s Choice plan has no hidden costs and no penalty fee for leaving.
“We're not keen on the sneaky notice periods some of the other guys are into,” Blincoe says.
“There’s a bit of a playbook for the big guys which goes something like: extract as much margin out of your customer as possible through confusing plans and then, when competitors put the pressure on, you undergo a rebrand and do it all over again,” Blincoe says.
“We reckon doing the opposite of that could be a pretty interesting business model.”
Kiwi Mobile is part of Electric Kiwi, which also provides power and broadband services. Kiwi Mobile operates on 2degrees’ mobile network, reaching 98.5% of the places Kiwis live and work.
