Saturday March 12, 2011
By LEONG HUNG YEE
hungyee@thestar.com.my
PAYING your mobile phone bill can sometimes put a dent on your wallet. Worst still, if you have recently travelled abroad and fell victim to the exorbitantly high roaming charges.
“I learnt it the hard way. Once I forgot to switch off my data roaming while travelling. I ended up forking more than a thousand (ringgit) and the telco wouldn’t give me any discount,” says a young executive who uses a smartphone.
A simple postpaid voice package coupled with an unlimited data plan can easily cost about RM100 a month. Of course, there are more affordable packages in the market for other smartphones.
The flood of smartphones entering the market which offer features such as access to social networking sites or built-in GPS for map usage have led users to opt for unlimited data package as accessing Internet on the phone can cost a bomb.
The vast availability of WiFi enables easy access to the Internet.
Anne Cordelia Tan, a BlackBerry user pays an average RM195 a month for a voice and data package. She does not mind paying the amount so long she gets the Internet access at all time and need not have to look for an Internet hotspot.
In contrast, iPhone user Jenny Teo says the vast availability of WiFi enables her to access Internet for free. “Why do you want to pay so much for data package? There are lots of cafe that provide free WiFi access. I pay for the basic package and monitor my usage so I do not go over the allowed quota,” she says.
However, given the wide diversity of packages offered by telcos these days, it is easy for consumers to get overwhelmed when making the best choice.
“If you don’t want to pay for a higher rate plan, simply monitor your minute or data usage. If your usage is trending higher than what you get every month, then stop using your phone. It’s that simple,” she says.
With that, the big question is – how can one save on mobile or Internet bills?
Some suggest that bills can be lowered by opting for prepaid packages but others swear by post-paid. Different strokes for different folks, they say. But the key determinant really depends on extent of usage and budget.
Theoretically, the best way to control your bill is to opt for prepaid but the charges are generally a little higher as the network operator would rather tie you in for the long term.
The best way to save on your mobile bill is to choose a plan that is suitable for you and not what’s being promoted by the telco. Be it a higher minute plan or unlimited data access, choose one that caters to your needs most.
Many of us do not call as much as we chat on WhatsApp or BlackBerry Messenger which require users to have a data plan.
There is an assumption that adding data to the plan will bring bills up, but keep in mind that your per-kilobytes usage is probably a lot higher than what it costs to get unlimited data access.
Users must also be careful with what they are subscribing to,especially third party applications such as ringtones, music, games or horoscope as the charges could be quite high. It could be as little as 20 sen a day for horoscope but the bill will come up to RM6 a month.
Mobile phone and Internet users should take advantage of the waiver given by telcos for those who subscribe for email delivery of their itemised paper bill.
The waiver may not be a lot but it will save you some RM5 a month and that’s RM60 a year. Remember, a dollar saved is a dollar earned.
Users can also save some money by making calls to friends during off-peak hours.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/12/business/8186195&sec=business
No comments:
Post a Comment