The Consumer Council yesterday urged mobile phone users to be cautious when using wireless communication services to avoid unexpected charges.

The council received a total of 143 complaints relating to mobile data services from January to May this year. There were 270 similar complaints in 2007.

Twenty-eight of this year's cases were about the use of 3G, while 115 concerned the use of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), a mobile network service applicable to 2G or Global System for Mobile (GSM).

The consumers mainly complained about charges on data transfer services which they had used without noticing.

This might have happened when the mobile phone users used WiFi, a free-of-charge online service available in the vicinity of hotspots.

As WiFi is only applicable to a short distance, the signal will become weak or the connection may get cut off as the user moves away from a hotspot.

"Consumers may not be aware that their mobile phones may automatically switch to mobile network for data traffic due to the weak signal of WiFi," said Philip Leung, member of the Publicity and Community Relations Committee.

He added this may result in unexpectedly high fees as data traffic through GPRS or 3G charges according to data volume based on very tiny unit, for example, kilobyte.

The amounts involved in the disputes ranged from HK$60 to HK$14,000.

Connie Lau, chief executive of the council, did not think the cases involved any intentional deception.

"It's about technology. Both parties should bear the responsibility," she said.

The council called on consumers to understand fully the pricing details, terms and conditions before signing any contract for mobile data service.

"Beware that some packages of unlimited usage are limited to specified channels or portals," Leung said.

Consumers should disable GSM or 3G connection to avoid accidental switching between networks, he added.

At the same time, service providers should explain the pricing details to consumers. Operators should also consider alerting users on extra costs that may be incurred or the amount of data being transferred through text messages or e-mails, he said.

(China Daily 06/17/2008 page1)