Seven in ten (70%) Brits now use smartphones and/or tablets on their daily commutes
In an average daily commute of 74 minutes, Brits use mobile internet for 44 minutes
Commuters clock up almost 900 minutes of mobile internet usage each month – almost 4 billion minutes collectively
More than four in ten (44%) exceed their monthly data allowances, with more than a fifth (22%) surpassing their data limits regularly
With monthly out-of-network data charges averaging £30.25 per 500MB across the networks, those who go over their limit by just 500MB per month could have to pay more than £363 per year extra
More than half (51%) of commuters experience patchy connection and slow speeds (53%), while four in ten (40%) struggle with internet blackspots.
Brits using smartphones and tablets to catch up on work or on the news while commuting risk racking up extra charges that could collectively cost almost £685 million per year according to the latest research from Uswitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service.
Seven in ten commuters (70%) are now using smartphones and/or tablets on their daily commutes for an average 22 minutes each way. That’s two fifths (59%) of the average journey time of 37 minutes each way. It means that commuters clock up 900 minutes each month, and so are glued to their phones or tablets for almost 4 billion minutes each month between them.
But with just 5% of pay monthly deals currently offering unlimited data allowances, data-hungry commuters are vulnerable to hefty out-of-contract charges. More than four in ten commuters confess to having exceeded their monthly data allowances in the past, and more than a fifth (22%) go over their data limit at least every two months. Commuters in the South West of England are most likely to exceed their data limits (63%) while Scots are most likely to exceed their limits every single month (14%). Those over the age of 55 are the most likely age group to incur out-of-contract data charges.
And it’s easy to see how so many commuters are racking up extra charges. Just browsing the internet for 15 minutes, and sending or receiving ten emails with attachments, and ten emails without attachments, uses approximately 8.5MB of data, or 17MB per day, which works out at 342MB per month – and this is before mobile data used during the rest of the day is added.
Even a frustrating service isn’t enough to make commuters put their phones down. They are undeterred from using their mobile internet connections in spite of the fact that more than half often get patchy connections (51%) and slow speeds (53%) on their journeys, while four in ten (40%) struggle with internet blackspots. Commuters in Wales report getting the most erratic connections (63%), but those in the East Midlands are most likely to suffer internet blackspots (48%) and sluggish download speeds (61%).
The top five mobile commuting activities are dealing with personal emails (65%), surfing the web (61%), using social media (47%), dealing with work emails (33%) and checking the weather forecast (31%). The most diligent commuters are in the South East of England as they are most likely to check their work emails on the way to and from work (42%). Those in the North West are the least likely to do this (24%), preferring to surf the web instead (65%).
Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at Uswitch.com, says: “Smartphones and tablets are both a blessing and a curse. They’ve quite literally changed our journeys to work, enabling us to tag an extra hour on to the working day, organise our social lives, catch up on last night’s telly, or to simply zone out with an e-book or a news app. But as we get increasingly data-hungry, we need more generous data allowances at more competitive prices. And to make the most of our commute, we also need faster and more reliable mobile internet – the rollout of 4G can’t come soon enough.
“Right now, only a very small proportion of pay monthly and SIM-only mobile deals come with unlimited data – just 5% – yet our research shows that 25% of commuters have opted for unlimited data plans. Unlimited data will likely make your mobile spend higher, but at least you won’t get any nasty surprises at the end of the month. It can help consumers, and businesses that supply employees with mobile devices, budget better. So if you’re going to be surfing the internet on-the-go with your mobile, make sure you’ve got the best package to suit your needs.”
Top tips for avoiding extra data charges:
Use Wi-Fi where you can. Whether at home or at work, or via a hotspot when you’re out and about, using Wi-Fi instead of 3G or 4G can help limiting your data usage and manage your bills. But if you don’t have unlimited downloads at home, keep an eye on your usage there too. Keep an eye on your usage.
Track how much data you’re using throughout the month through your online account. Some providers will also notify you when you’re nearing your data limit.
Consider a data bundle. If you use up your allowance, talk to your network about what data bundles you can buy to see you through the rest of the month.
Upgrade your package. If you keep going over your data allowance consider a new deal – with more, or even unlimited data. If you like your phone, consider a SIM only deal that gives you more data.
Katherine Moss
Phone: 020 3021 5893
Email: katherine.moss@uswitch.com
Twitter: @uswitchPR
Uswitch.com surveyed 2,000 commuters who travelled by bus, train or as a car passenger. Responses were collected online in June 2013 via One Poll.
Commuters were asked what devices they used while commuting - 53.7% use a smartphone, 7.9% use a tablet, 8.7% use both = 70.3% in total
Participants were asked how long their commute was - the average was 37 minutes. They were also asked ‘on average, how long do you use your data connection on your smartphone/tablet during your commute?’ - the average was 22 minutes. This equates to 1,000 minutes per month (22 minutes x 2 journeys per day x 20 working days per month).
ONS figures show the number of people in work is 29.7 million. Of those people, 20% take the bus or train to and from work (9% bus and 11% train). 20% of 29.7million is 5,940,000. According to Uswitch research, 70% use smartphone or tablets. 70% of 5,940,000 = 4,157,999. Each of those 4.1million commuters clock up 880 minutes of mobile internet usage each month, so 3.6 billion collectively.
When asked ‘approximately how regularly do you exceed your monthly data allowance?’ of those who said they had a data limit, 8% said ‘every month’; 14% said ‘every 2 or 3 months’; 10% said ‘once a year’; 14% said ‘twice a year’; 46% said ‘never’; 7% said ‘not sure’.
Based on the maximum cost of using out-of-bundle data, averaged across O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Three, Vodafone and Virgin Media. Vodafone charge £5/ 250 MB, so £10 for 500MB; T-Mobile, Orange and Virgin all charge a maximum/ flat rate of £1 a day - so a maximum of £30 a month; O2 don’t charge; Three charge 10.2p/ MB, so £51 for 500MB. This averages out at £30.25/ 500MB (for those that charge) a month, or £363 a year. Based on previous calculation of 4.1 million commuters, and 46% of commuters exceeding their allowance, collectively British commuters risk racking up bills of £684.6 million a year (4,100,000 x 0.46 x 363).
Participants were asked ‘do you experience any of the following problems when using your tablet/smartphone on your commute?’ – 50.9% said patchy connection, 53.1% said slow speeds, 39.5% said internet blackspots, 33.9% said battery running low, 9.3% said none of the above
Based on all pay monthly and SIM-only mobile deals available on Uswitch.com on June 12, 2013
According to this guide: 10 emails sent/received with no attachment = 0.25MB, 10 emails sent/received with photo or doc attachment = 1.8MB, browsing the web for 15 minutes = 6.5MB. Total = 8.55MB x 2 for both journeys = 17.1MB. 17.1 x 20 working days per month = 342MB. Based on previously mentioned calculations of an average cost of 3.6p per MB, the cost for 342 MB it is £12.20.
Participants were asked what they do on their phones/tablets while commuting and selected options from a list – 33.2% check work emails, 64.5% check personal emails, 60.8% surf the web, 7.5% skype or video message, 24.5% use instant messager, 47.1% use social media, 13% download apps. 5.4% download e-books or magazines, 21% play online games, 31.1% check the weather, 24.4% listen to music offline, 8% listen to music online, 5.1% watch TV/films offline, 2.8% stream TV/movies online, 1.9% watch live TV.
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Uswitch is the UK’s top comparison website for home services switching. Launched in September 2000, we help consumers save money on their gas, electricity, broadband, mobile, TV, and financial services products and get more of what matters to them. Last year we saved consumers over £373 million on their energy bills alone.
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