A Mixed-Methods Study of Mobile Users' Data Usage Practices in South Africa

With a shift towards usage-based billing, the questions of how data costs affect mobile Internet use and how users manage mobile data arise. In this paper, we describe a mixed-methods study of mobile phone users' data usage practices in South Africa, a country where usage-based billing is prevalent and where data costs are high, to answer these questions. We do so using a large scale survey, in-depth interviews, and logs of actual data usage over time. Our findings suggest that unlike in more developed settings, when data is limited or expensive, mobile Internet users are extremely cost-conscious, and employ various strategies to optimize mobile data usage such as actively disconnecting from the mobile Internet to save data. Based on these findings, we suggest how the Ubicomp and related research communities can better support users that need to carefully manage their data to optimize costs.