We are a nation that is hungry for data, with nearly half of Australia (45 per cent) agreeing they simply could not go about their daily life without data on their smartphone. However, with greater data usage comes greater anxiety about going over the data limit – Australia is becoming ‘Datafraid’.
Datafraid (definition): A state of anxiety about how much data you’re using on your mobile phone.
The Virgin Mobile research was conducted to support the launch of Virgin Mobile’s new partnership and the new product offer ONE B1G GIG – a bonus gigabyte of data for all existing and new Postpaid1 customers every month they listen to Guvera until 30 April 2016, so that Virgin Mobile customers no longer need to be ‘Datafraid’ when listening to music on the go.
Nine in ten Aussie smartphone users agree that music makes life more enjoyable and 71 per cent agree that music is a significant part of their life. So why are only 29 per cent of Aussie smart phone users using a music streaming service on their mobile phone?
It could be because a significant proportion of Aussies are worrying constantly about going over their data limit – 44 per cent when they feel they are getting close to their limit and 36 per cent because they don’t know how much data their phone is using.
So what is driving this fear? While there are tools in place to check data regularly for Aussie smartphone users, when asked how far a gigabyte of data would go for music streaming, only 1 per cent of Aussies could correctly estimate how much music this would get them.
Virgin Mobile wants to let all music lovers across the country know that one gigabyte of data for music streaming through Guvera equals about 407 songs or up to 21 hours of music (as tested by Virgin Mobile). However, the majority (86 per cent) underestimated how much music this would get them. On average, Aussies estimated that one gigabyte of data would only get them 290 songs or eight and a half hours of music – much less than the reality!
No wonder we’re becoming ‘Datafraid’ with the lack of understanding of how much data our smartphones are using.
To curb Aussies’ fear of going over their data limit and to celebrate the new partnership with Guvera, Virgin Mobile’s ONE B1G GIG offer means there is no need to be ‘Datafraid’ about streaming music on the go.
David Scribner, chief executive at Virgin Mobile Australia, commented: “As well as this new partnership cementing another way we are making mobile better, this offer is also a reflection of us listening to our customers and solving an issue that scares off most music streamers – data drain. A lot of people are scared of streaming music through their smartphone because of how much data they believe it eats up.
“With this monthly bonus gigabyte of data, Aussies can stream their favourite tracks to their hearts content without worry about any nasty surprises on their bill at the end of the month. Our customers believe that music makes the world a better place, and we want to help them access it whenever and wherever they are.”
Virgin Mobile has partnered with Guvera because of an alignment in values and a mission to put people first. Guvera treats its listeners, paying or not, to unlimited music and the ability to download unlimited tracks to their mobile phones and listen offline.
Darren Herft, CEO, Guvera commented: “We’re really proud and excited to be partnering with Virgin Mobile. It’s evident data is top of mind all the time for Australians so through this offer we hope more Aussies can enjoy using our service and get access to more music.”
To celebrate the launch of the ONE B1G GIG, Virgin Mobile has partnered with international musician and comedian Reggie Watts to show Australians how much 1GB of data will actually get them. Watts will be coming to Australia to release a music track that lasts for a whopping 21 hours and name checks over 600 of Australia’s weirdest and wonderful town names. That’s right, he’s rapping, beatboxing and singing his way around Australia for 21 hours so Australians can truly see just how much 1GB of data is worth on Guvera.
The track will be available from Tuesday 20 October 2015 on makingmobilebetter.com.au. To get a taste of Reggie in action, watch his teaser video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEiYAQ5BZQU&feature=youtu.be
