IT’S A BARGAIN
throughout the recession. And there was a huge number of TVS sold last year for the Rugby World Cup.
‘‘It might a drop a little or it might stay the same this year. I can’t see the same growth happening but you’ve got the Olympics and digital switchover.’’
Kiwis were switching to internetconnected TVS to use applications such as Skype on the big screen, he said.
‘‘There’s been a big growth in Skype cameras.’’
Statistics said prices for telecommunications services – which includes mobile and home internet services – fell 7.7 per cent in the year to March 31.
Telecommunications Users Association chief executive Paul Brislen said while Kiwis’ telco bills weren’t necessarily falling, increased competition meant they were getting more bang for their buck.
He suspected improved home broadband plans were behind a big chunk of the price fall.
‘‘I’m paying exactly the same amount for home broadband as I was paying when I first got broadband in 1999,’’ he said.
‘‘But the speed is now 15 times faster and my data has gone from 600 megabytes a month to 60 gigabytes a month.’’
Mobile plans had a lot more data bundled with them and text allowances were growing.
‘‘There’s also been a huge drop in data roaming charges from the ludicrous to the faintly ridiculous.’’
The high cost of data roaming, along with the higher cost of smartphone handsets, meant New Zealand was still a way off becoming a smartphone nation.
‘‘They’re still at the more expensive end of the market.’’