Dutch carrier KPN will introduce usage-based data fees by the end of the year, becoming the latest in a growing list of operators to ditch all you can eat bundles to cope with rising demand for mobile data.
The telco is working out the details of its new pricing policy with the aim of making the change during 2H10, and will likely differentiate between data bundles for light, regular and heavy users, a spokeswoman told TelecomsEurope.net.
However, the spokeswoman was unable to confirm what levels of data usage would comprise the three price brackets, stating only that it does not “not disclose info about heavy users.”
The firm reported a 47% rise in non-SMS data revenues in its 2Q results earlier this week, as increased smartphone sales and applications downloads drove up customer’s average data usage.
As a result, “data pricing needs to be more closely linked to the cost of delivering the service in order for KPN to be able to monetize the data growth opportunity,” it said.
Chief executive Ad Scheepbouwer hinted at the new pricing policy in an interview with the Financial Times earlier this week, stating there would have to be some “sanity in terms of pricing,” as data revenues overtake voice over the next five years.