The final week of June tends to revolve around tax receipts and super top-ups. Yet another household expense deserves equal attention: your telco bill.
New research from comparison site Mozo shows many Australians—particularly those who have kept the same plan for years—are quietly overpaying for mobile and broadband services.
With more than 38 million active connections nationwide, the combined overspend runs into the hundreds of millions.
Below, we unpack Mozo’s findings and outline simple steps to keep more of your hard-earned money in your own pocket.
The EOFY wake-up call
- Mozo reviewed 611 mobile plans across 48 providers and 316 NBN plans across 69 providers for its 2025 Experts Choice Awards.
- Three common mistakes emerged: paying for unused data, breezing past the $1-per-gigabyte yardstick, and remaining loyal to expensive providers.
Personal finance specialist Rachel Wastell sums it up plainly: ‘If you haven’t compared in the past year, your telco is probably profiting from your loyalty.’
Mistake #1: Paying for data you do not use
Australians love a generous allowance on paper, yet most of it goes untouched.
- Average monthly mobile use: 14.2 GB
- Average advertised allowance: 68 GB
That gap—roughly 26 GB every month—means many are buying data that never leaves the packet. Mozo calculates that a typical plan in the 43-69 GB range costs about $42 a month. Award-winning plans offering 42 GB or less average $29.
For anyone using only 14 GB, that difference translates to $156 a year wasted on surplus bytes.
The situation is similar to broadband. Most NBN plans come with unlimited data, so value hinges on speed tiers.
The average household consumption is around 514 GB a month. Unless several people are simultaneously streaming 4K video or downloading large game files, a basic or standard tier may suffice.
Mistake #2: Ignoring the $1-per-GB benchmark
An easy rule of thumb: divide your monthly fee by the included data. If the figure exceeds $1 per gigabyte, you are likely overpaying.
Suppose you pay $42 for 68 GB but use only 14 GB. Your real-world cost balloons to $2.96 per gigabyte—nearly triple the recommended ceiling.
Mozo’s award-winning 5G plans come in well under $1/GB, even on modest allowances. In other words, smaller can be smarter.
Credit: 9NEWS / Instagram
Mistake #3: Paying the loyalty tax
Staying with one provider might feel comfortable, but it often costs extra.
- For mobile users on small plans (≤42 GB), the average monthly bill is $36.
- Mozo award-winners average $29.
- Loyalty tax: $84 each year.
- On the NBN Standard tier (NBN 50), households pay an average of $83 a month.
- Award-winners average $71.
- Loyalty tax: $144 each year.
SpinTel topped this year’s honours list, taking out Best Mobile Plan Provider and Best Broadband Provider. Moose Mobile, Lyca Mobile, Swoop, Flip, TPG and Dodo also collected multiple awards.
A three-step check-up for your telco health
- Review your usage. Examine a recent bill—mobile and NBN—to see how much data you genuinely consume.
- Apply the $1/GB test. Divide your monthly cost by your data allowance. Anything above a dollar should raise a red flag.
- Compare before you commit. Smaller providers often undercut the major brands without sacrificing quality.
Final word
Older Australians know the value of prudent spending. In an era of rising living costs, trimming hidden telco charges is a straightforward way to protect retirement income. A half-hour comparison today could spare you well over a hundred dollars this financial year—and every year that follows.
Also read: GP fees too high? This major city has some of the worst bulk billing access
