Peak telecommunications consumer body ACCAN says its new research confirms the majority of Australians now see their mobile phone as their number one communications device (58%), while fixed line phones dwindle at 29%. The research highlighted a generational gap, with younger people vastly preferring mobiles (77%), while more than half of people aged 55 and over saying their fixed line is their main service.

The first annual ACCAN National Consumer Perceptions Survey, which is being presented at the ACCAN 2012 National Conference being held in Sydney today (Weds), also revealed that many Australians are reluctant to switch providers, with almost a third of respondents saying they had never switched telecommunications providers. Almost half had been with their provider for five years or more. 

“It’s surprising that so many people have been with the same telecommunications provider for five years or more, especially at a time when there have never been more providers offering competitively priced voice and internet services in Australia,” said ACCAN Chief Executive Teresa Corbin.

“We’re going to take a closer look at why people don’t actively participate in the market by shopping around. If you’ve been with the same provider for a long time, it’s worth checking to see what other deals are on offer. People are actively trying to save money on other utilities like energy, but for some reason when it comes to telecommunications services many people just stay with the same provider.”

The survey also revealed a gap in the attitudes and behaviours of smartphone users and non-smartphone users.

More than three-quarters of those who don’t use smartphones think that others spend too much time on them, with two-thirds of this group stating they don’t like others using them in public because it makes them unaware of what is going on around them. 

Funnily enough, more than half of smartphone users admit they pay less attention to what’s going on around them while using the device, with 28% of people saying they like using their smartphones in public places to deliberately block out what is going on around them.

Among smartphone users, just over half said they do not monitor their data usage (52%) which ACCAN said can lead to customers receiving unexpectedly high bills, known as “bill shock”.

Media contact: Elise Davidson M: 0409 966 931