“Data leakage”, where consumers lose data without using it, is a “technical impossibility”, an industry body has said, dismissing growing complaints from users that their mobile data is disappearing.
“This surge in data usage is behind the data depletion that has generated recent media coverage. Data leakage doesn’t exist,” said Wireless Application Service Providers’ Association (Waspa) chairman Casper de Villiers.
In a statement on Tuesday, De Villiers said South African cellular users are spending a declining percentage of their cellphone budgets on voice calls and a growing proportion of their cellular spend on data.
“Local mobile consumers are still adjusting to the reality of the new global data economy,” he said. “Consumers are learning how to budget for data usage and will soon realise that data is not ‘disappearing’ from their cellphone accounts.”
Waspa advised consumers to download their mobile network’s usage app to their smartphones and opt to receive SMS data usage updates. It also recommended they download special data-saving apps to remain on top of data usage. It said they should try different operating systems and Internet browsers, too to determine which use less data.
De Villiers said the fact that data’s share of cellphone spend is increasing is welcome news for South Africa’s economy. — (c) 2017 NewsCentral Media
