With millions of people staying at home to stop the spread of the coronavirus, it’s hardly surprising that data usage on our smartphones has plummeted. Most handsets are likely hooked up to fixed-line broadband connections at home, meaning customers aren’t eating into monthly allowances as they normally would when commuting every day, visiting friends, taking trips.
Recent stats from Uswitch reveal that Brits are now sitting on a staggering 165 million gigabytes of unused mobile data paid-for with their monthly mobile phone bill, which is thought to be worth a staggering £165 million. Sadly, most networks don’t allow data to be carried over or banked for a later date – that means what isn’t used is simply lost.
However, one service that does offer the ability to bank data is now boasting just how much it has saved its customers. Sky Mobile has featured its Piggybank for a number of years which allows any data to be saved and retrieved at a later date. Or, if you don’t think you’ll be able to use it, Sky Mobile customers can swap the data for discounts and other perks.
The supplier says that due to the current lockdown its customers have saved over £36 million worth of data between March 23 and May 3, 2020.
More than 5.4 million GBs of data has been rolled into Sky Mobile Piggybanks, data which would have typically been lost with networks that don’t offer this service.
READ MORE
-
UK Broadband disaster: New stats reveal just how bad your internet is
Explaining more, Paul Sweeney, Managing Director of Sky Mobile, said, “With Roll, Sky Mobile customers can share their spare data with family, or exchange it for rewards like money off a new phone, tablet, accessories, Sky Store movie vouchers and choose from over 20,000 movies.
“In fact, over 150,000 of our customers exchanged their spare data for rewards in April alone.”
According to Uswitch, more than a third of consumers want their unused data to be rolled over to the following month, while one in five would like a refund on any unused data.
A generous one in ten would like to give their unused data to essential workers, and 8% want a monetary equivalent to be donated to charity.
Ru Bhihka, mobiles expert at Uswitch.com, comments: “Locked-down consumers are sitting on a mountain of unused mobile data worth a staggering £165 million.
“We have mobile deals set up to accommodate browsing on the go – but since so many of us are homebound and relying on Wi-Fi to stay connected, we’re simply not burning through our data allowances in the same way.
“Many consumers would like to see this data rolled over to when they have more use for it, and it’s great to see some providers like Sky Mobile already doing that.”
Sky Mobile customers can head to sky.com/piggybankrewards and sign-in with their Sky iD to check the amount of unused data available. This is also where you can use the data for savings on brand-new smartphones, tablets or accessories to boost your kit.
Sky Store vouchers to spend on Buy & Keep, or movie rentals on your Sky Q box are also available. So, there’s no chance of running out of gadgets to play with, or things to watch in lockdown thanks to Piggybank.
Source: Read Full Article