The mobile data rip-off

Posted on 16 Jun 2011 at 11:56

We uncover the scandalous restrictions and prices placed on mobile data – and reveal how to find the best deals

Can it really be the case that delivering data to your mobile costs 90 times more than to your home broadband connection?

Could mobile networks really get away with charging foreign roaming rates so extortionate that 40GB of data costs more than a family home?

Would mobile firms really ban everyday smartphone apps, just because they conflict with their commercial interests? What do you think?

Mobile networks are – in the words of the EU’s vice-president for the digital agenda – engaging in a widespread “rip-off”. From regular data tariffs to sky-high roaming rates, the small band of mobile networks are blatantly adopting a policy of charging whatever they can get away with.

Not only are their prices fundamentally divorced from the actual cost of providing data, they also seek to control what consumers can do with their (often paltry) allocation of megabytes.

Applications such as Skype are frequently banned by mobile networks, for no other reason than an anti-competitive desire to protect the operator’s call revenues.

Instant-messaging clients – which consume only a smattering of bytes – are outlawed if they haven’t struck a commercial deal with the network.

In this feature, we expose the very worst excesses of Britain’s mobile networks, and the dirty tactics they’re employing to keep prices high and customer service low. Prepare to be shocked.