The Great Data Dump Distraction and the real opportunity for customer-centric brands

If there is one thing the telco industry has mastered, it is the art of perception.

In a world where bigger often feels better, mobile plans boasting enormous data allowances have become the latest ploy mobile network operators are pulling from their increasingly sparse bag of tricks.

Eye-watering 700GB-plus allowances are  being paraded Down Under as the ultimate value proposition, yet the reality paints a different picture.

The average Australian postpaid user consumes just 17.4GB a month, and prepaid users even less. Despite this, the industry continues to inflate plan sizes, banking on the psychological appeal of abundance rather than genuine consumer need.

At its core, this is a classic marketing move, leveraging excess to create the illusion of value.

It is why supermarkets push oversized family packs at eye level and why streaming platforms highlight vast content libraries, even when most subscribers barely scratch the surface.

Some mobile network operators have amplified this approach, using overstuffed data plans to make their offerings seem superior, even though most customers will never use anywhere near their full allowance.

The psychological play: big Numbers, bigger illusions

Industry veterans have seen trends come and go, but even they acknowledge that today’s inflated allowances are unlike anything before.

One telco insider noted that cost per gigabyte is a valid measure in theory but irrelevant in practice. No consumer is realistically using 720GB a month because it is beyond practical consumption.

It is akin to offering a discount on water at 400 litres a day when physical limits would prevent anyone from making use of it. They are pushing a metric that sounds good but delivers little real value to the user.

The data itself is clear. Globally, the trend mirrors Australia’s experience. In the United Kingdom, average mobile data use sits at just 8.5GB per month in the United States clocks in at under 30GB. When telcos push ‘data dumping’  plans it’s evident that the strategy is not about meeting demand but manufacturing it.

Speed is no longer a competitive differentiator, as networks are now fast enough for most activities. That leaves data allowances as the primary battleground – heaven forbit they innovate, ssh – no one mention eSim.

The MVNO dilemma and a clear path to innovation

For run of the mill mobile virtual network operators, this presents a unique challenge. Competing directly on data allowances is often financially unviable.

The large telcos have an advantage in scale, branding and market positioning, making it difficult for smaller players to grab attention with rationally sized plans.

But this is precisely where opportunity lies. While mobile network operators chase ever-larger numbers, customer-centric brand mobile providers can step into the gap with tailored, meaningful connectivity.

This is where fintechs, retailers, insurers, credit unions and membership organisation offering branded mobile services can rewrite the narrative.

Instead of following the industry’s fixation on excess, these brands can align their mobile offerings with real customer behaviour, providing plans that reflect actual usage patterns rather than exaggerated, impractical allowances.

A financial institution can bundle mobile services into a member offering, providing fairly priced plans that prioritise flexibility and value over sheer volume.

A fintech or travel brand could integrate mobile connectivity seamlessly into their ecosystems, ensuring users stay connected without the burden of excessive, underutilised data. Retailers could reward loyalty with mobile perks, reinforcing customer engagement in a way that goes beyond just a massive data figure on a bill.

These approaches do not just provide an alternative to data dumping, they offer a smarter, more sustainable model, one that prioritises genuine customer value over marketing theatrics.

The future belongs to brands that deliver relevance and innovation not just raw data

The real question is not whether telcos should stop offering these plans, but whether customers should start questioning them. The strategy signals a sector running low on innovation, resorting to inflated allowances as a last-resort differentiator.

The data dump distraction may dominate the market today, but it is not a sustainable strategy. Customers will, eventually, see through the illusion. When they do, they will turn to brands they know that offer mobile plans designed for them, not for the sake of marketing but for real, everyday value.