Commerce Commission acts on mobile price confusion

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kingjj

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#2598047 5-Nov-2020 08:24

KrazyKid: A good read. It reinforces my believe that post pay plans are poor offers in many (most) situations.
This website probably has a good share of high data users, but I bet many here could be on a better value plan.

Not you of-course. You are one of the sensible ones.

I'll put my hand up and admit I'm not one of the sensible ones. My plan is overkill for my usage but I like to have to freedom to 'burst' when I need to and I have a nice discount on my plan which I wouldn't get if I dropped down to a lower tier.

freitasm

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#2598053 5-Nov-2020 08:30

loceff13:

Why is AUS much more competitive compared to NZ?

Competitive? Yes. Quality? Hardly.

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MaxineN

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#2598085 5-Nov-2020 08:48

KrazyKid: A good read. It reinforces my believe that post pay plans are poor offers in many (most) situations.
This website probably has a good share of high data users, but I bet many here could be on a better value plan.

Not you of-course. You are one of the sensible ones.

Yep. Kogan Mobile on the Extra Large plan when it was $1 for 3 months of 32GB of data. Do I use that much? I get through a third of it. Will I keep it? No I'll be looking somewhere else by December. I am keeping an eye on telco pricing and so far I'm weighing up either Vodafone or staying with Kogan Mobile but with a smaller plan.

I'd like to see more MVNO's pop up and disrupt the market however. I don't think we're competitive enough but our telco's do a really good job with quality. I must admit. Years ago I would have only recommended 2degrees just because nobody could offer anywhere close to them. Now? Nah we're getting more options slowly.

Ramblings from a mysterious lady who's into tech. Warning I may often create zingers.

old3eyes

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#2598117 5-Nov-2020 09:39

We have 4 cell phones in my household. 3 in Skinny prepay $16 / month plans and my wife is on Spark $29.99 postpay. The only reason she is still on postpay is she can go and buy a new phone and pay it off over 24 months. In NZ you can't do that on prepay.

Regards,

Old3eyes

openmedia

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#2598217 5-Nov-2020 11:38

All 3 phones in our house are on the Skinny $16 plan, and to be honest during our current Covid WFH state two of these plans are probably more than we actually need.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

billbennett

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#2598218 5-Nov-2020 11:40

sbiddle:

I still struggle with the whole thought of a regulator dictating things to a market in this way.

All providers make pricing available. If people aren't willing to actually look at their bill or look at the prices of other offerings then who's problem is this really? Is there even a problem that needs fixing?

That's the point, pricing IS available, but it certainly isn't always clear AND people are unable to get meaningful historic data to understand their use and make the best decisions.

Keep in mind that not understanding mobile pricing is one of the most frequent consumer complaint the Commerce Commission has to deal with. Clearly there is a problem understanding the plans.

The regulator doesn't want to dictate how the market advertises prices, it wants the telcos to come up with a proposal on how it can do things better.

Bill Bennett www.billbennett.co.nz @billbennettnz

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billbennett

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#2598222 5-Nov-2020 11:44

Dochart: What would happen if they decided to implement what they did with RCG where all providers share the same tower therefore decreasing costs. Would this mean cheaper plans or plans being at the same price but with more data or unlimited?

Or by implementing what they did with RCG to all New Zealand would this reduce competition?

If you think lower costs from network sharing would automatically be passed on to consumers then you haven't been watching the market. And yes, unless it was a fully separated, open access network it would reduce completion and certain ensure a new entrant could not join the market.

Bill Bennett www.billbennett.co.nz @billbennettnz

billbennett

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#2598224 5-Nov-2020 11:46

MaxineN:

KrazyKid: A good read. It reinforces my believe that post pay plans are poor offers in many (most) situations.
This website probably has a good share of high data users, but I bet many here could be on a better value plan.

Not you of-course. You are one of the sensible ones.

Yep. Kogan Mobile on the Extra Large plan when it was $1 for 3 months of 32GB of data. Do I use that much? I get through a third of it. Will I keep it? No I'll be looking somewhere else by December. I am keeping an eye on telco pricing and so far I'm weighing up either Vodafone or staying with Kogan Mobile but with a smaller plan.

I'd like to see more MVNO's pop up and disrupt the market however. I don't think we're competitive enough but our telco's do a really good job with quality. I must admit. Years ago I would have only recommended 2degrees just because nobody could offer anywhere close to them. Now? Nah we're getting more options slowly.

Agree 100% that the telcos do a grand job on the whole. More clarity on pricing would be a grander job ;)

Bill Bennett www.billbennett.co.nz @billbennettnz

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#2598226 5-Nov-2020 11:48

billbennett:

sbiddle:

I still struggle with the whole thought of a regulator dictating things to a market in this way.

All providers make pricing available. If people aren't willing to actually look at their bill or look at the prices of other offerings then who's problem is this really? Is there even a problem that needs fixing?

That's the point, pricing IS available, but it certainly isn't always clear AND people are unable to get meaningful historic data to understand their use and make the best decisions.

Keep in mind that not understanding mobile pricing is one of the most frequent consumer complaint the Commerce Commission has to deal with. Clearly there is a problem understanding the plans.

The regulator doesn't want to dictate how the market advertises prices, it wants the telcos to come up with a proposal on how it can do things better.

So we have to dumb everything down for the lowest common denominator! Crazy to be honest

My Dad is almost 80 and understands his invoices and what minutes and data and SMS are!

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