Promotions are something frequently seen in service areas such as standalone and multiplay broadband. The rationale behind such promotions is clear - by offering an introductory discount, users are more likely to sign up to new or expanded services. More importantly, this type of promotion encourages habit forming around data usage, with services that users previously had little use for suddenly becoming a 'must have'. The culture around such promotions is fairly widespread, with a wide number of service providers using them. To date, however, they haven't really featured in the world of mobile, where the main draw has been free or heavily subsidized handsets.

There are early murmurings, though, that things are changing. In the UK, for example, Vodafone recently announced its 'Data Test Drive', which allows both new customers who take out a pay monthly contract and upgrading existing customers to have unlimited access to data for the first three months of the contract, with the exception of data roaming. The offer comes with a range of 20 different smartphones, and will also include any new handsets as they are launched on the network. After the first three months, during which users can surf the web, download apps, send emails and even share the data connection with other devices via tethering, Vodafone will feed back how much data has been used, and look at whether the chosen plan is meeting the user's needs, and, if appropriate, suggest an alternative. The user will then be given the choice of either staying on the existing plan or switching to the one proposed by Vodafone.

Similar plans are also emerging in Norway. Under its range of 'Complete' packages, which cover voice, SMS and web access, Telenor Mobile offers customers 3 months of unlimited usage for a reduced fixed monthly fee of between 83 NKr and 200 NKR per month (usual price is between 249 NKR and 599 NKR per month). The offer is available for all packages with the exception of Complete S, which covers only modest usage, and Complete Control, which is a package for children. After the 3 months, the standard price and terms of service will apply, with usage limits set for voice, SMS and internet access.

As is typical with these kinds of offers, competing providers will often quickly follow suit, so we expect a lot more of these to come on board.

T-Mobile has introduced two new tariffs to its postpaid customers. Both plans give unlimited calls. At CZK 2000, T-Moble Grand offers CZK 1000 credit plus unlimited calls to T-Mobile and fixed lines. Grand Plus is charged at CZK 3990 per month and allows users to make unlimited calls to any network in the Czech Republic. Messaging is not included in the tariff so is still charged at individual prices.

T-Mobile continues to offer its previous pay monthly plans such as Friends, Top and Credit.

In addition, the operator has unveiled a prepay plan with an emphasis on data. Twist Internet requires a monthly fee of CZK 850, for which users receive a credit of CZ K50 for calls and text messages as well as 5GB of data per month. This tariff offers a price of CZK 7.90 per minute for calls to fixed lines and other operators. Calls to T-Mobile are cheaper and two time bands apply, with off-peak on-net calls costing CZK 3.40 per minute.

Full details of the plans above are available in T-Cellular Online. Teligen monitors price developments of this sort in its continuous updates of T-Cellular Online http://sa-link.cc/3i

It is difficult to tell whether dazzling array of choice in mobile tariffs is designed to empower users, allowing them to tailor their package precisely to their usage, or whether it is covertly trying to confuse and confound them. For years, there has been a push towards consumer choice and transparency at every level, driven by both market forces and regulation. And on that front, it is hard to dispute that that is exactly what we have now. Undoubtedly, users have benefitted from this choice, but if we were to dig a little deeper, we would most likely discover that a significant proportion are on the wrong package according to their usage, and that they have been for a long time. It is partly inertia, of course - many people simply can't be bothered to sort it out - a kind of better (and easier) the devil-you-know attitude. For those that take the plunge, however, it quickly becomes evident why inertia is such an attractive option, as deciphering and comparing across each offer is no easy task. The table below, taken from Teligen's online mobile tracking service, TCO, looks at a selection of mobile operators across Europe, and how many mobile plans they offer, including the various permutations and combinations that comes with each[1].

Undoubtedly, it will be fairly straightforward to thin the list of options down to a slightly more manageable number to choose from, based on the device, whether a user wants prepaid or not, or prefers a 12 month or 24 month contract, and so on. And some countries don't have quite such a tortuous list to choose from. However, it is worth mentioning that add on packages, such as extra SMSs, are not included in our table - put these into the mix and we're dealing with even more variations. By any standards, this really is a minefield, especially if you are trying to compare across providers.

The added dilemma for many is that they don't have a firm handle on their overall usage. Voice calls might be a known quantity for some, as might SMSs, although these might vary dramatically from day to day, week to week and month to month. And when data is thrown into the mix, as is increasingly the case, the waters can get very muddy.

A handful of operators will proactively inform users that they are on the wrong plan, and suggest an appropriate alternative, but often, switching to the right one will require the signing of a new contract, which will usually tie the user in for at least another 12 months.

It would be good to see operators take the initiative, and make the apparent choice and flexibility a genuine reality for customers, rather than bombarding them with a bewildering array of continually evolving plans and options. And to be fair, some are trying, but there is still a long way to go.

[1] Source: TCO, Teligen. Does not including family or group plans with sharing allowance, youth, student senior, business plans or data only plans e.g. for tablet devices such as the iPad. Also does not include ?add-ons, such as an extra SMS bundle. Operators in Italy, for example, offer a lot of add-ons.

Our appetite to be contactable and to access information while on the go, be it with streamed media, email or just simple voice, has grown exponentially over the past few years. And, for reasons of form factor, functionality and pure processing power, it has also outgrown being delivered by a single device. For a while, much of what individuals on the move wanted to do could be delivered by smartphone functionality and form, even if some of the transactions were somewhat awkward because of the device size. The laptop, and later, the netbook were added to the mix. More recently, we have seen tablets permeate the list of seemingly essential mobile devices. While it is undoubtedly useful to have different devices designated for both specific and general tasks, it also means that users usually find themselves taking out a separate data subscription for each device they want connected. For some, however, the volume and type of traffic they generate while on the move is unlikely to differ significantly whether they using one device or three, which means they are probably paying for more data than they actually use, particularly if each subscription comes with a hefty data allowance.

While this is not a happy place for users to be - no one wants to pay for three data subscriptions when they really only need one - it has the potential to be pretty lucrative for mobile operators. Unless, that is, users start to be more proactive with their data management - using WiFi hotspots much more, opting for WiFi-only versions of devices where available, and, more worryingly for operators, shopping around for offers from alternative carriers. This really isn't beyond the realms of possibility - there is already a lot of user dissatisfaction over the increasing amount of money spent on data, especially, when data quality is not particularly good.

It is not surprising then, that we are starting to see the emergence, albeit very slowly, of single data plans that cover multiple devices. The first one we came across was from Rogers Communications, the Canadian cable TV and wireless communications provider, which announced at the end of last year that it would allow customers to share existing mobile broadband plans across devices for a monthly fee - at the moment set at C$15. Whether the C$15 hits the sweet spot for users needs to be ascertained, of course. The plan doesn't provide any additional data for the extra money, and would only have appeal to users who consistently underuse their monthly data allowance across their various devices. But it is certainly a move in the right direction.

The likelihood of the emergence of similar plans in Europe in the near future is already evident. For example, there are already indications that Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom in France are planning to launch single subscriptions packages later this year, that cover multiple devices on a single plan.

The single plan concept is not dissimilar to the mobile WiFi (or MiFi) offers that have been around for a while now, and that carriers in numerous countries are increasingly marketing. MiFi allows users to create a wireless hotspot while on the move, using a MiFi modem or router. The hotspot will then allow shared internet access by several WiFi devices. In the UK, for example, 3, Orange and Vodafone all offer or have announced MiFi plans. Like the single plan concept, however, they do not come for free - a MiFi router is required, along with a monthly subscription, although some PAYG plans are available.

It is evident that operators are fast realizing that many users are close to their price ceiling, and that something needs to be done to maximize the revenue opportunity, whether this is through single plans or MiFi offerings. Expect more of the same to come.

If anyone thinks that pricing always trends downwards as competition intensifies, they obviously aren't tracking mobile broadband.

A cursory glance at the news in any given week will often reveal yet another mobile operator who has either moved away from flat rate data pricing, or who has reduced upper data limits.

The pre-cursor to these changes is that operators are struggling with capacity issues, as demand for mobile data grows. If you've ever spoken to anyone who uses mobile data, chances are they will tell you how poorly their service performs when they are on the move, particularly if they are in higher density areas, where networks are much more likely to be overburdened.

The problem is that there is not much that operators can do, at least in the short term. True, we have new generation networks like LTE coming along - but they aren't here yet, and the reality is that demand for mobile data is growing at such a pace that these new networks will find themselves faced with similar capacity issues before long.

Operators are also looking at off-load solutions. O2 in the UK recently announced the launch of a free wireless network that promises to be double the size of existing networks by 2013. Whether the extent of the coverage will be enough is debatable (the number of hotspots cited doesn't seem that high given the geographic reach needed), but initiatives such as this are a move in the right direction in dealing with the growing capacity issues they are facing, caused by the rise in smartphone ownership, and the resulting increase in data traffic on the move. However, it is not a solution that will have an immediate impact on what is already a serious problem.

Mobile operators have found themselves turning to pricing initiatives as a partial solution to the issue of burgeoning data growth. Of the 74 mobile operators and over 600 data packages that Teligen tracks as part of its mobile broadband service, T-Wireless, very few offer genuinely unlimited data subscriptions. And of late, we are seeing a marked shift to capped usage, along with a reduction in upper limits, and a significant price tag attached to further usage over and above this limit for the remainder of the month.

While this may seem unpalatable, the reality is that, at present, for many, the allocated allowances are rarely reached, and they won't be significantly impacted by the price changes - that is if you ignore the fact that a reduction in usage allowance for the same price is, effectively, a price increase. However, the longer term is unlikely to present such a rosy picture for users, who are increasingly incorporating ever wider mobile usage into their daily lives, driven by smarter devices, increased ease of use, more readily available, attractive content, and a wider range of applications. Whether mobile operators become more innovative in their mobile broadband pricing, and offer users something in return for price hikes, remains to be seen. But one thing is sure, mobile broadband pricing only seems to be heading in one direction.

If you want clarity around mobile data pricing, it seems that the UK is not the place to be at the moment. Following the general path that many operators seem to be following as of late, T-Mobile confirmed that, as of 1 February 2011, it was going to limit all customers to a monthly data allowance of 500MB. For many, this meant a very sizeable reduction of 50%, down from 1 GB. For Android handset owners, who are currently allocated a rather more substantial 3 GB per month, the picture was even bleaker.

Before the news even had chance to filter through the industry proper, however, T-Mobile issued a second announcement that the change would apply to new and upgrading customers only, and that existing customers would see no change to their data cap. In addition, changes to data usage policy would not apply to corporate contracts.

Perhaps the hurried retraction was in response to customer backlash, some of whom will have selected T-Mobile precisely because of its high data allowance compared to certain competitors. Or perhaps the company was reminded by Ofcom that any communications provider must give its customers at least one month's notice of any change of this nature, and that customers could terminate contracts without any penalty if a change was not acceptable to them. Whatever the reason, it does seem that T-Mobile has not stepped quite so boldly down the road as some of the other players in the UK mobile market - for now at least.

While this demonstrates just how important clear and consistent messaging is around an area that is difficult to decipher at the best of times, the underlying trend illustrates how operators are trying to deal with the phenomenal growth in data across their networks - but that's a whole new can of worms.