John Anthony

FOR many of us, mobile devices are constant companions we can always rely on. We turn to them when we’re feeling lost, bored or just need someone to talk to.

Mobile devices have had a big impact on not only our behaviour but also our bank balance.

A recent Commerce Commission report said nearly all New Zealanders carried a mobile phone and nearly 60 per cent of the adult population owned smartphones. It said prices for mobile services in New Zealand had dropped steadily, especially for low data plans which were now below OECD averages.

For a mobile phone package of 30 calls and 100 megabytes (MB) of data New Zealand ranked 11 out of 34 OECD countries.

But as soon as data increased,New Zealand’s ranking slipped. For 300 calls and one gigabyte (GB) of data, excluding GST, New Zealand prices ranked 17th.

For 900 calls and 2GB of data New Zealand ranked 24th – 190 per cent more expensive than Australia.

And finally for 6GB New Zealand ranked 33 out of 34 OECD countries.

Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand chief executive Paul Brislen put that down to a lack of competition at the top end of the market, which was dominated by Vodafone and Telecom. If 2degrees increased its presence in that space users would see a better price point.

2degrees did offer competitive lower mobile data packages and that had resulted in consumers shifting providers, he said.

Many customers tended to stay with the same provider they originally signed up with, which was costing them money. ‘‘If you don’t change provider frequently, which most people don’t, then you’re missing out on a lot of savings.’’

Users should reconsider a plan at least once a year, he said. He also advised people not to sign up to a 12-month contract.

Changing telcos these days was easy and customers needn’t worry about having to sacrifice their cellphone number in the process.