A consumer advocacy group says Illinois residents are wasting as much as $1.4 billion a year by signing up for the wrong cellphone data plan.
The Citizens Utility Board says Tuesday that the average Illinois resident is overpaying for their smartphone's data plan by about $194 a year, buying access to more data than they actually need.
CUB's executive director says people often don't realize how much data they use and overpay.
The figures, which CUB released along with wireless industry research firm Validas, show only a small percentage of smartphone users ever incur "overages" for using more data than their plan allows.
Research released this month by the Pew Internet & American Life project shows 91 percent of Americans own a cellphone, and 56 percent have a smartphone.
CUB: Illinois Residents Waste $1.4B on Data Plans
Average Illinois resident overpaying for their smartphone's data plan by about $194 a year
Copyright AP - Associated Press
