It wasn't too long ago that having a mobile phone meant choosing the right plan for your usage – How often do you call other mobiles? Fixed lines? Overseas? Simple questions with simple answers. 

 

Back then we paid for every call, every connection, and every minute on the phone. It was simple.

Now adays the Telecommunications Ombudsman is snowed under in complaints from mobile users, charged exorbident bills, for what seemed an innocent look at the internet capabilities on their phone. No one explained the fine print and if you have time to read the ten or so pages of the contract then good on you for having the time. The rest of us don't.  

 

The big change in pricing came with the introduction of "capped plans." In simple terms that allows you to pay a set fee for the month, including a certain amount of calls.  Perhaps you would pay $49 per month for $300 worth of calls. 

 

The first big catch for users is that most calls on those plans came at a higher price per minute, so in fact you were paying more per call, but, as long as you picked the cap plan to fit your usage, you would almost always be better off. 

 

But what does your cap actually give you? Generally these types of plans include calls to mobiles and fixed line phones within Australia, and SMS messages within Australia.  Anything outside of that, and your bill will start creeping up. 

 

The first place people will notice this is in the use of 'information service' or 'competition voting,' as well as calls to the directory assistance line for your carrier, and the subsequent connection to the person you are after, will almost always fall outside your cap – that is, you are paying for that call. 

 

The same applies to those simple SMS messages you might send to save your favorite contestant on a TV game show.  These are generally not included in your cap. 

 

So if you're wondering why you are on a $49 cap plan, and keep getting bills for $65 or similar, think hard, and call your mobile phone provider for information. 

 

That's just the half of it! 

 

Notice lately how it's hard to find an ad on TV or in the paper for mobile phone 'calls'.  Almost impossible - There are plenty of ads for Internet on your phone, music downloads on your phone, watch TV on your phone and all those sorts of fancy and exciting new services. 

 

The introduction of 3G (The super fast mobile network being introduced by all carries) has made possible a new range of services for Mobile Telephone providers to offer to their customers.   

 

Beware though; this is where you will see your bill creep up once again. 

 

Buy a new fancy phone, be it an iPhone, Blackberry, or any of the 3G capable phones on the market, and aside from for making phone calls or SMS messaging, anything you choose to use which involves clicking the enticing 'internet' or 'download' button could be costing you money. 

 

Almost all carriers now offer a 'mobile data' package.  One carrier is currently advertising a new style of 'cap', which allows unlimited calls from mobile to mobile, that's pretty exciting, but what is the catch?  The catch is you have to sign up for a 'mobile data' package on top of your monthly plan.  That's great if you use it, but if you don't use the Internet, or downloads on your phone, you are better placed just sticking with your capped plan. 

 

Then there are the data packages for specific plans or phones.  The iPhone and blackberry plans on most networks come with a limit.  Anything from 5MB (megabytes) to 700MB or even 1GB (Gigabyte).  While there are some that are unlimited, they are few and far between, and come at a price.  Heavy users should consider these immediately, because when you'r next bill comes you could well be in for a shock. 

 

If you've just bought an iPhone and have available to you 5MB of data per month on your plan – imagine this. 

 

You don't have email – so that's not going to take up any of your usage.  But you're on the train, or on your lunch break, and you've heard about the latest hilarious clip on YouTube – so you click that YouTube icon that comes by default built into the iPhone.  Watch a 5-minute video.  Now go into your settings, and check your usage.  You'll find that most likely you've just downloaded 5MB of data via the 'cellular network' as the iPhone calls it. 

 

There is your usage gone – just like that. 

 

That plan is pretty extreme, and is really for people who have an iPhone for the sake of it. 

 

More common might be the 500MB or similar plans.  Take the time to look at your usage on a regular basis, either on the phone, or if available through your mobile company. 

 

Everything you do on the phone when you are relying on the mobile carrier (that is, when you are not at home or at a location with a WiFi connection) could be costing you money. 

 

Downloading new and exciting applications 'over the air', watching videos, surfing the Internet, downloading new songs from 'music stores', could all be costing you valuable data – data that you might not have. 

 

Don't go whining when your bill comes in double or more than what you expected it to be.  Buyer beware is a common term, and if you want to enjoy the exciting world of mobile downloads, expect to pay for it. 

 

Mobile Phone companies need to find new and high yield ways of making money; Mobile Data is the way for now. 

 

So remember – checking your email, visiting a web page, watching videos, reading news, downloading songs, downloading ring tones – all these things and more, could be costing you money, or eating up your available downloads, and just like with the capped plans for calls, you can go over those limits. As friendly and as helpful as the phone companies pretend to be, they won't give you a cheap rate on the data you use over and above your limit.  

 

Oh, and for the record, despite the amazing advances in technology, you CAN still buy a mobile phone.  One of those things that just makes and takes calls. And, even more surprisingly, there are plenty of great value plans out there for people doing just that.  So have a good look around, rather than spending more money, you could well be saving!