Mobile and broadband made more affordable through competition

Competition in the broadband and mobile market is providing benefit to consumers, according to a new report by the ACCC.

Its annual report on competition and price changes in the telecommunications sector for 2016–17 has now been released, showing that consumers were able to access communications services of growing value as prices fell and plan inclusions increased.

“At a time when affordability in energy markets is a major concern, competition in the broadband and mobile market is continuing to benefit consumers,” said ACCC Acting Chair Delia Rickard.

Data downloads rose by 43% over the year, with consumers continuing to rely heavily on fixed broadband connections, which accounted for 92% of all downloads.

The real prices for fixed internet services in the market fell by an average 4.5% year-on-year from 2014 to 2017. The range of plans and bundles available has changed significantly and a quarter of all fixed broadband plans had an unlimited data allowance, up from 5% in 2014.

Real prices of mobile services dropped by an average of 7.1% each year over the same period, though the price of higher-priced prepaid plans increased in the last year.

“Consumers are obtaining greater value for money and receiving and using more data each year,” Rickard said.

“In other encouraging developments, we are seeing new players enter the fixed and wireless broadband markets and this will provide further competitive pressure going forward.”

Overall demand for communication services continues to grow, and more consumers chose to rely on their mobile devices for voice calling in particular.

The number of mobile voice minutes rose by seven billion over the year, more than offsetting the reduction in fixed-line minutes of three billion.

Mobile handsets are also the preferred way of accessing the internet, accounting for 66% of all broadband subscriptions while fixed broadband connections are used far more intensively by businesses and consumers.

The ACCC telecommunications report for 2016–17 was published after it was tabled in parliament and is available on the ACCC website.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/denisismagilov

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook