The Malta Communications Authority has launched an informative and educational campaign on mobile data. The campaign, entitled Be Data Smart, is intended to help you enjoy mobile data services, with peace of mind.
Mobile data allows you to gain wireless access to the internet, any time, any place. However, you must have a data enabled mobile phone to access such services. Essentially, whenever you read your e-mails, browse the internet, share photos online, stream movies, or use social networking sites, you are making use of data services.
To use the internet on your mobile phone, you need to have a data enabled mobile phone. Mobile phones typically connect to the internet either through a Wi-Fi connection or via mobile data. You would therefore either need to have a mobile subscription that also provides for data services, or else you may opt to make use of a paid or free Wi-Fi hotspot. If you have mobile data services enabled on your mobile phone and have a subscription that supports these services then you can use the internet on your phone even when Wi-Fi is not readily available. Many mobile telephony packages available on the market offer a predetermined amount of data, free of charge, as part of the subscription plan. Some service providers also offer you the possibility of purchasing data bundles, over and above the allocated data allowance.
The amount of mobile data that you need depends on how often you intend to use it and particularly, on your specific online activity on your mobile phone. Applications and services have different levels of mobile data consumption.
For instance, if you use the internet on your mobile phone to watch videos on YouTube and download large files, you will consume more data than if you use the internet to read your e-mails, browse websites or listen to radio. Applications such as Spotify have a medium level of mobile data consumption.
Understanding your monthly data usage will help you choose the right mobile data plan for you.
Certain service providers may send you an automatic notification before and upon exhausting the free allocated data allowance. Certain service providers also offer the facility to enquire about your data consumption by sending an SMS to a particular number. You would then receive a reply indicating your data balance. It’s important to enquire with your service provider about the different mechanisms available to control your data consumption. If you continue using data services after you have exhausted your data allowance within your plan, you will be charged for such data. Such charges should be listed in your contract upon subscribing to the service. You can use such services free of charge only if you connect to a free Wi-Fi hotspot.
Certain smartphones have in-built applications which provide an approximation of mobile data usage at regular intervals during your mobile data subscription period. There are also various data monitoring applications readily available for download. You also have the possibility to review your data usage pattern in retrospect, by viewing your itemised bill which provides you with a detailed description of your data usage through the previous billing period. This can provide valuable insight into how you can control or make better use of your mobile data package. While the various monitoring data applications provide an approximation of your mobile data consumption, the itemised bill provided by your service provider shows the true extent of your data usage.
There are various measures you can take to avoid unnecessary data consumption. If you are not using the internet, turn off the mobile data facility on your phone. This is because certain applications may continue working in the background and consequently eat away your mobile data allowance. Also, turn off push notifications. Your phone may have an option to stop you from receiving any automatic notifications upon receipt of new e-mails or any incoming news from your social media accounts.
Connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot whenever possible. The MCA, in collaboration with other entities, provides over 190 Wi-Fi hotspots around Malta and Gozo. The MCA Malta Free Wi-Fi free app, available for download from Google Playstore, locates the nearest MCA’s Wi-Fi hotspots according to your given location.
Review the settings of your social media accounts. Facebook recently added a new feature which automatically plays videos that feature on your timeline. This will result in a considerably higher amount of mobile data consumption. To stop this, change your Facebook settings to run such videos only when connected to Wi-Fi or to not play videos automatically.
For more information visit www.mca.org.mt/bedatasmart, call on 2133 6840 or e-mail customercare@mca.org.mt