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About 35% of Indians using smartphones have experienced increased data billing due to automatic buffering of video advertisements while surfing a website or using a mobile application, a survey conducted by nanu, a mobile VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) application, shows.
The survey, conducted for three days in June in over 23 states covering 14,154 smartphone users, showed 89% of them were reluctant to click on video advertisements.
Surprisingly, the results show that about 42% of Indians have no knowledge of increased data consumption due to these “automatic” video ads.
The lack of awareness is evident as only 10% of them have installed ad-blocking software on their phones. The matter has already been brought to the telecom regulator’s notice.
An official from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said the authority is aware of automatic video buffering and content downloading as a cause of concern for smartphone users.
“Consumers should not be paying for data consumed involuntarily. We are looking into the issue as the downside is you end up consuming data due to involuntary download. We will take steps to resolve the issue,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
The telecom regulator has been taking a number of proactive measures for consumer protection lately, like proposing a penalty for call drops, and has sought powers to penalize telecom operators for non-compliance.
Martin Nygate, chief executive of nanu, said, “With mobile advertising growing exponentially, there is an increasing possibility of consumers facing hidden data charges without their knowledge. We are glad that Trai has made meaningful efforts in this direction and we are hopeful that the operators will join this movement to safeguard consumers’ interest.”
Video ads are inflating mobile data bills: survey - Livemint
The survey, conducted for three days in June in over 23 states covering 14,154 smartphone users, showed 89% of them were reluctant to click on video advertisements.
Surprisingly, the results show that about 42% of Indians have no knowledge of increased data consumption due to these “automatic” video ads.
The lack of awareness is evident as only 10% of them have installed ad-blocking software on their phones. The matter has already been brought to the telecom regulator’s notice.
An official from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said the authority is aware of automatic video buffering and content downloading as a cause of concern for smartphone users.
“Consumers should not be paying for data consumed involuntarily. We are looking into the issue as the downside is you end up consuming data due to involuntary download. We will take steps to resolve the issue,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
The telecom regulator has been taking a number of proactive measures for consumer protection lately, like proposing a penalty for call drops, and has sought powers to penalize telecom operators for non-compliance.
Martin Nygate, chief executive of nanu, said, “With mobile advertising growing exponentially, there is an increasing possibility of consumers facing hidden data charges without their knowledge. We are glad that Trai has made meaningful efforts in this direction and we are hopeful that the operators will join this movement to safeguard consumers’ interest.”
Video ads are inflating mobile data bills: survey - Livemint