The results are in, and we’re staggered at how we are a nation loyal to our telcos and willing to pay for far more than we need with estimates most people could save over $120 per year on their mobile costs without even changing Telcos.
Thanks to everyone for completing our annual EFTM Mobile Phone Survey, here are the results!
What we spend on Mobile and how Australians can save:
The annual EFTM Mobile Phone Survey asked over 2,000 people about their mobile phone, phone plan and their telco with the results showing the average monthly spend on mobile plans to be $50. That breaks down to a $60 average for those on post-paid plans and $30 for those on prepaid plans.
More alarmingly, the amount of data people pay for on their plans is close to double what they are using. On average Australians have 47GB of data available to use each month, while only actually using 24GB.
A quick analysis of the plans in market show that with a $10 per month reduction in plan costs, users will still have an adequate data allowance to suit their usage.
Meanwhile 12-month pre-paid plans offer the chance to save more than double that by switching to low-cost telcos on the market.
32.73% of users are on Prepaid plans, another 36.39% are on month-to-month post-paid plans which puts almost 70% of people in a position to change Telcos at any time.
Our Telcos
Telstra has the dominant market share among those users surveyed, with a 29.73% share of the market, that grows quickly past 45% when you count the Telstra network share of customers including Belong, Aldi and Boost Mobile.
TPG/Vodafone carry 15% of the market directly, while Optus alone has 24.24% of the market directly – again growing when including sub-brands and MVNO brands.
However, Optus faces the greatest challenge moving forward following their recent Cyber Attack. Overt 56% of current Optus customers answered YES when asked if they were “considering changing telcos as a direct result of the Optus Cyber Attack?”
More troubling for the Optus bottom line are the 10.32% of users who say they have already changed to another telco as a result of the Cyber Attack.
The true numbers who “churn” away from Optus in this period will be known in the months ahead, and while the number may not reach 10% in total, it’s clear from the comments those surveyed made about the Optus cyber-attack that it has had a strong negative impact on their brand.
While there was a small number of comments saying Optus was not at fault, for example “not their fault, can’t stop a hacker if they want to get in” or “These things happen, Optus does not seem to have been at fault in its processes from what I’ve read”, most comments were damning of Optus’ handling of the issue.
“When I was contacted I was told not to worry my photo ID and Medicare card was out of date. I was still not happy with the explanation left me with more questions than answers. I am going to pay my phone off so I can switch telcos”
“I’ve heard absolutely nothing directly from them. I contacted them via the Optus app. After much automated messages I did speak with someone seeking compensation. They said they were working on what that would look like and only offered a free 12 month subscription to Equifax. There has been no direct contact in form of an email, or text or phone call about the cyber attack. Their handling has been appalling. I’m on a month to month plan so the only cost is the handset which is preventing me to move back to Telstra. I’m only just half way through the 24 months.”
“I was frustrated that they went to the media first and didn’t contact their customer base first. Secondly, cancelling my contract was difficult because they shutdown both the online and phone service cancellation team and forced customers into stores with a 100-point ID check. Lastly, I feel there was no sincere apology or legit onus of the situation. Anyway, I’ve had my data leaked and I certainly won’t be a customer again (any time soon anyway).”
“I’m a Telstra customer and I received an email about the Optus hack within days of it happening. I have friends and relatives who are Optus customers and still haven’t been contacted. I think their communication has been appalling.”
“They should have contacted all customers before addressing the media. The handling of the situation was abysmal and, at face value, it looks like they didn’t want to tell their customers.”
“Communication to the public was poor at best”
Over 100 user written comments mentioned “Communication” as an issue.
Switching Telcos
When it comes to shopping around and finding a better deal, over 50% of Australians surveyed have not switched Telcos in the last five years.
That number escalates to 67.9% who have not changed telcos in the last three years.
Mobile Phone Brands
Apple has a staggering 56% of the smartphone market among those surveyed, up 2% on 2021 and 4% on our 2019 Survey.
Samsung’s 28.38% follows, down almost 2% on 2021. Google has gained 2% in the last year with a 5.75% share, Oppo maintains a clear fourth place as a brand, while Huawei has suffered the greatest decline down 4% since 2019.
