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Accessing the Mobile Internet may cost less than you think.

The cost of browsing the Mobile Internet depends on your mobile carrier and your price plan.

On your mobile carriers portal (On Deck) you often don't pay for viewing the pages. If you're not sure about what you will be paying for, ask your mobile carrier.

Outside your carrier's portal (Off Deck) your carrier may charge for time spent browsing the Mobile Internet, or by the amount of Megabytes of data that you use. For example, if your carrier charges $1 per MB of data, it may cost just a few cents to read three pages of a news story. Text based items use less data than images or video, so will cost you less to view.

Check with your mobile carrier to find out their specific charges.

Yes, you can. If you can't get enough of the Mobile Internet and are using it regularly, it's a good idea to sign up to a mobile data pack to save money. Some mobile companies call this a web pack, data plan or data service.

For example, if you have signed up to a Mobile Internet pack that includes 5MB of data per month you can use up to 5MB of data without incurring any extra charges for data usage.

5 Megabytes of data per month will allow you to read a LOT of Mobile Internet text pages. Pages which include images and video will use up your monthly data allowance more quickly.

Some carriers allow you to view how much data you have used. Check out your mobile carrier portal for details.

• Go to Mobile Internet sites (rather than regular websites) these are usually designed to keep the MB sizes down, and not chew through your data allowance. Sites that start with m. or ends with .mobi are always mobile sites.
• Browse pages which don't contain a lot of images or moving images, as these images chew through a lot more data than simple text. You may also like to check if your mobile has the ability to turn images off whilst viewing the Mobile Internet - this will dramatically reduce the data charges.
• If the Mobile Internet site that you are viewing takes quite a while to load up, it is likely that it contains quite a lot of data (e.g. from images). Sites which load quickly often contain less data, and may therefore cost you less to browse.
• Keep an eye on your MB usage each month by accessing your details on the Mobile Internet, your carrier's website, your carrier's call centre or on your bill each month. Review how much you are spending on the Mobile Internet, and discuss your usage patterns with your mobile carrier to see if there is a better plan or data pack to suit you.
• Check out the Top Mobile Internet sites listed on this website for some of the best sites to browse.

• Some mobile internet sites may require you to pay a fee to view the pages, but most are free.
• The fee could be in the form of a daily fee, a monthly subscription or a fee to purchase certain Content.
• Any fees that may be charged have to be clearly explained before you accept the charge.
• Make sure you read the terms and conditions so you understand exactly what you are paying for and know how to stop paying.
• There are two main ways that you can pay fees:
  • On your mobile carrier portal you will usually be able to accept payments by clicking a few buttons and the charge will appear on your mobile phone bill.
  • If you are looking at mobile sites outside the mobile carrier portal, you will usually for things using Premium SMS.

With messaging, you pay per message.

The cost of sending and receiving messages on your mobile phone depends on your mobile carrier and your price plan. For example, usage may be included within your plan, or you may pay for each message you send or receive.

SMS and MMS:
Sending an SMS or an MMS message to a normal mobile number starting with 04 will be charged at the standard rate according to your particular mobile plan. Some plans include a certain number of free text messages within your plan. Check with your mobile carrier to see what you will be charged for SMS and MMS messages on your plan.

Premium SMS:
You can send a Premium SMS to make a purchase, (such as a ringtone or game). The costs for purchases made via Premium SMS vary by the item you are purchasing.

You can also send a Premium SMS to receive a subscription service. This can either be for monthly access to an information service, such as bus and ferry timetables, or subscription services can be used to receive material on a weekly or daily basis. The costs for subscription services vary by the service you are subscribing to.

International:
If you are using your mobile phone to send messages internationally, the costs can vary by country, plan and carrier. Please contact your mobile carrier to get the pricing details relevant to your plan.

If you are calling a number starting with ‘19’ or texting a key word to a mobile shortcode to cast your vote on a TV show, enter a competition or order products like ringtones, wallpapers and alerts, this will cost you money!

To make sure you spend what you want and get what you want, use your phone brain.

Always:

• Keep your eyes open.
• Check out the price.
• Have you got enough credit? Is your phone compatible? (Will the product you want to buy work on your phone?)
• Know what you're getting. (Is it a subscription service?)
• Know what it costs.

It's important you keep track of how much you're spending in total. A reminder message should be sent by the provider each time you spend $30 on a particular premium service.

One way to stop yourself from getting an unexpected huge bill is to get a prepaid account. With a prepay account you are less likely to get yourself into trouble, because you know what you are spending every month.

There are a range of ways in which you can be charged for Premium SMS Services, these include:

Flat Rate - this is where you are charged a fixed amount for each Premium SMS. For example, you could be charged $5.00 for a ringtone or, if you use a chat service, you could be charged $1.20 for each SMS you send.

When you see an ad for a Premium Service always check the costs before sending the Premium SMS. The costs for Premium SMS must be listed with the number so make sure you check the price first.

The responsibility for your mobile, and the cost of services paid for with your mobile, ultimately rests with you. This includes Premium Services used by family and friends, even when made without your knowledge. If your phone is lost or stolen you must let your carrier know straight away, you don't want somebody else racking up your phone bill.

There are a number of specific rules that relate to the provision of Premium SMS Services aimed at ensuring that customers are fully informed about the price and content of the services. If these rules have been broken, you may not have to pay for the service. Naturally you aren't liable for charges resulting from a fault or billing error.

To discuss any concerns you have about Premium SMS Services and/or the costs you have incurred, please contact your carrier or the provider of the service.

If the carrier or the service provider are unable to resolve the matter you can contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO). The TIO is an office of last resort for complaints about the telephone and internet services.

You can also contact the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for information on telecommunications issues. The ACMA is a Commonwealth government agency responsible for regulating the telecommunications industry.

If you purchase a download from the Mobile Internet (such as a game, ringtone, wallpaper, music track or video) the cost of the item will depend on what you are downloading and may include data charges.

If you subscribe to a Premium SMS subscription service, the cost will depend upon the service that you are subscribing to. The maximum that you can be charged per premium SMS in Australia is $6.60 (plus data charges).

Premium subscriptions services in Australia can usually be terminated by sending ‘STOP’ to the original Premium SMS number that was used to begin the service. The company providing the Premium SMS service has a legal obligation when you first sign up to specify how you can unsubscribe and stop the service. By law, they can't charge you any more than the cost of a standard SMS to unsubscribe from the Premium SMS subscription service.