Kelly Giorlando with twin sons Jake and Luke, 11, and their array of phones and online devices. The plan also allows parents to see how much data their children are using on each device. Now, juggling internet consumption is difficult because families have a range of data caps, even if they consolidate bills. Details of pricing and data limits will be announced in coming months. Mr Thodey told the Herald Sun that data was one of the fastest-growing expenses for families. "There is nothing worse than actually thinking you know what's going to be in the bill and you get bill shock," he said. The concept of shared plans is to simplify things for customers. It will be more predictable - you've got greater control of what's going on. He said the average Australian owned three mobile internet devices and the average family had five phones. There has been a reset. I mean people are paying less for voice calls, but more for data - and that's just an industry trend," Mr Thodey said. Croydon Heights mum Kelly Giorlando said she struggled to juggle her data usage which she shares with husband Loris and twins Jake and Luke, aged 11. Between them, they have separate data caps for two tablets, five smartphones, two iPods, wifi and Foxtel. Ms Giorlando said it was tricky and time-consuming to check each device separately and welcomed plans to hook up multiple devices to one data bucket. "I tend to have a look at our bill online and having to go into each one individually is annoying and difficult to keep track of," she said. The move to shared data plans in the US began a new era of competition as telcos offered bigger swathes of data. The local move is expected to prod competitors to offer similar deals. In the US, customers pay different fees depending on the amount of data they choose, and a fee for each device on the plan. Telstra is also set to announce a "no lock in" offer for mobile users in which they can shop around month to month without locking into a six-month or 12-month contract.