The first day of Ratemizer
Alekstra launched a new consumer application, Ratemizer, on September 26. The application helps consumers to find out how much they could save if they switched to the cheapest mobile plan that fits their precise usage profile.
Ratemizer is available in the Finnish AppStore. During its first day on the app market, Ratemizer identified substantial savings – the Top Three cases resulted in more than 800 euros of annual savings each.
A few interesting points emerge from the early users. First – typically, substantial savings can be achieved by switching to the optimal plan of any of the four mobile operators covered by Ratemizer. In one case, a consumer could have achieved savings in the range of 1’020 to 1’230 by switching to the best possible plan of Saunalahti, TeleFinland, DNA or Sonera. Only one of these operators had the plan that yielded more than 1’200 of annual savings – but all four had a plan that would have yielded savings of at least 1’020 euros.
Typically, the consumer does not need to change carriers to reap most of the saving benefit that phone plan optimization yields – chances are that the current carrier has a decent option.
Another interesting point is that many of the consumers who have more than 300 euros of savings potential tend to underestimate their annual voice minute peak. Many consumers worry about mobile data usage or SMS volume – but the most typical way big spenders overpay in Finland is by underestimating how much they talk on the mobile phone during 1 to 3 peak months of the year. In many cases the voice minutes stay under 1’200 per month for most of the year – but spike above 1’500 or even 2’000 a few times a year. Those spikes can end up adding hundreds of euros to the annual mobile bill.
