With an increasing number of people relying on mobile phones for everything from directions to photography to entertainment, it's important to know how much data to purchase with a mobile phone plan.
The amount of mobile data a user should buy depends on a number of things, including usage levels of features such as video streaming, web browsing and music downloading.
What is mobile data?
Mobile data is information transmitted to and from a mobile phone via the internet. Unless a user is only making phone calls and sending text messages with their phone, data is being consumed.
While the advantages of being connected to the internet around the clock are obvious, it's important to know just how much data you're using in order to avoid overpaying on your mobile phone bills.
How is mobile data consumed?
Your data consumption is based on how you use your phone. For instance, if you stream one hour of video a day, it can add up to 3.5GB every month, and if you use a 4G connection, the same amount of video can eat a whopping 5.1GB.
To give you an idea of just how data-hungry video is, for the same 3.5GB of data you can send 10 emails, view 20 pictures, update your Facebook and Twitter accounts 10 times, browse online for 5 hours and stream 2 hours of music...every day!
Here’s a quick list of what's using up your mobile data allowance
- Sending 1 email: 20KB
- 1 Social media update (with photo): 350KB
- Instant messaging for 1hour: 1MB
- 1 hour of web browsing: 10MB
- Streaming 1 hour of music: 28MB
- Downloading one app: 40MB
- Streaming 1hour of video: 117MB
Top tips for reducing your mobile data usage:
- Connect to Wi-Fi wherever possible
- Turn off push notifications on apps from which you don't need real-time updates
- Use an app to keep track of your data usage; there are a wide variety of these available now
- If you listen to music on the go, some streaming apps have an offline mode so you can listen to cached music without having to be connected to the internet
- Close apps fully when you’re not using them - this will stop them from using data in the background and will save your battery
- Use ad-free apps where possible - not only will this get rid of tedious ads but it will conserve your data as well
- Reduce the quality of the video you are watching
- Turn off the autoplay video function on social media sites
- If you use Google maps regularly try saving frequently used ones to your offline folder or take screenshots
- Use mobile versions of websites where possible, these are simpler websites and generally use less data
- If your apps or games have an offline mode switch to this were possible
- Turn automatic update off for apps, this will give you the choice to update when you are connected to Wi-Fi
Check out our other broadband, TV and mobile guides
If you enjoyed this guide, why not take a look at other broadband guides and articles? Check out the following:
- 5G is becoming increasingly popular in Ireland. You can learn all about 5G in this guide and learn what providers in Ireland offer 5G services in this blog.
- Are you considering switching broadband providers? Assessing broadband plans can be confusing. Here we outline and explain the different broadband connection types.
- You discovered how much mobile data you need in this guide. Take a look at this guide to discover how much broadband data you need.
You can stay up to date with all the latest broadband, phone and TV news and helpful saving tips with our blogs and guides.
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Find the best broadband deal to suit your needs at bonkers.ie using our broadband comparison tool. You can review all options available in your area from Ireland’s main providers in just a few clicks.
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