Faster networks, better phones and consumers’ own habits have all led to users’ perceptions that their data is “disappearing”, a Vodacom exec has told Parliament.<\/p>\n
The portfolio committee on telecommunications and postal services was holding public hearings into the “cost to communicate” this week following the rise of the #DataMustDall campaign.<\/p>\n
Executive head of innovation Jannie van Zyl on Wednesday\u00a0dispelled the “myth” that people’s data was depleting more rapidly.<\/p>\n
\u201cData cannot disappear. It is consumed by your handset,\u201d he told the committee.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes you use your data; sometimes your handset uses it in the background that you don\u2019t know about.\u201d<\/p>\n
He used the new Apple iOS upgrade as an example, where the update requires 1GB of data. Many consumers wouldn\u2019t be aware of that, he said.<\/p>\n
Network speed, better phones<\/strong><\/p>\n In cases where active usage is the primary reason for \u201clost\u201d data, Van Zyl said that three things drive quicker consumption.<\/p>\n \u201cNetworks are getting faster. The average speed on the networks is about 10-16mb\/s, which is substantially faster than copper.<\/p>\n \u201cThat means data is being delivered to your phone much quicker.<\/p>\n \u201cThe second factor is that the handsets\u00a0have more capability now\u00a0in displaying this data. The content providers therefore make higher quality content available.”<\/p>\n Two years ago, he said, smartphones would have by default chosen a standard definition YouTube video.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, your\u00a0handset automatically chooses the highest definition version available.\u201d<\/p>\n Facebook, WhatsApp<\/strong><\/p>\n Lastly, users\u2019 behaviour patterns have changed rapidly in the past few years.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople will sit in this room and take photos and upload them to Facebook, Twitter or WhatsApp, and then friends will in turn download them.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve recently had to upgrade our uploading capabilities in terms of speed than it used to be in the past.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, people think nothing of taking 20, 30 photos at a function and uploading it to Facebook.\u201d<\/p>\n All of this together, resulted in more data being used, he said.<\/p>\n Why does my data expire?<\/strong><\/p>\n Committee chairperson Mmamoloko Kubayi quizzed van Zyl on why she cannot keep a data bundle beyond a certain date after she has paid for it.<\/p>\n Van Zyl said the misunderstanding came from consumers\u2019 perception of data as a “product”.<\/p>\n \u201cData is not a commodity, or a consumable product that you can take home. It is a service,\u201d he answered.<\/p>\n \u201cData flows are more like a river or a stream. It is constantly flowing 24\/7, and when you activate your data bundle, you place it in the river and it gets carried down the stream.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don\u2019t activate it, that data is gone. It\u2019s not like at the end of the month there\u2019s all this data leftover that we can donate to a school.\u201d<\/p>\n Can networks change this?<\/strong><\/p>\n To further illustrate the point, he compared purchasing data to purchasing a 30-day license at a car park.<\/p>\n \u201cIf in those 30 days I do not use the parking complex, I cannot go there next month and ask them to let me park for free for the next 30 days to make up for it.\u201d<\/p>\n He said networks could potentially extend the capabilities of their \u201ccar parks\u201d, but ‘building more parking spots’ is more costly than managing their existing data allocation.<\/p>\n It was about balancing costs with efficiency, and there would be a cost implication in expanding, he explained.<\/p>\n Both Vodacom and MTN, who also presented before the commitee on Wednesday, said the freeing up of old bandwidth frequency currently occupied by radio and television stations would drive the costs of data down.<\/p>\n MTN meanwhile told the committee it has decreased voice and data tariffs by 58% and 73% respectively in the last five years, despite an increase in costs due to a struggling economy.<\/p>\n News24<\/a><\/p>\n Vodacom scores R5 billion government contract<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore on Vodacom<\/h3>\n