It used to be the case that
you had to buy mobile phones outright in order to benefit from the
functionality. Nowadays, mobile operators offer many ways to buy handsets and
get a monthly allowances of air time and data. These broadly fit into the
following categories: monthly contracts, pay-as-you-go, SIM free, and contract
SIMs. It can be very costly buying several phones on contract, here we look at
the 4 main ways to buy phones and air time needed for different types of user.
Monthly contracts
Monthly
contracts provide buyers with the opportunity to save money. Buyers can spread
the cost of the purchase of the handset and receive excellent value airtime,
data allowance, and text messages in return for a commitment to a monthly
contract. These contracts tend to nowadays be 24 months, although it is
possible to get contracts of 18 and 12 months.
A
mobile operator will normally credit check the buyer and decide whether they
are worthy of the phone they are looking for. Handsets are a significant
purchase of often £400 or more. Contracts of 24 months sometimes weigh in at
£800 or more. Therefore, the operators will want to now that the buyer is a
responsible borrower.
There
are specific types of contracts that are designed to different types of users,
from light users, medium users, heavy users, and even business users. Orange,
Tesco and T Mobile offers change almost daily and it is essential to check
current offers.
Pay As You Go
Pay
as you go phones provide buyers with the opportunity to buy a phone that is
locked to a certain provider. They will buy air time with the phone, and then
top up as they need credit through the purchase of vouchers, or by registering
their credit or debit card to the phone.
Most
of the best phones are offered on pay as you go, and these range from £15 to
hundreds of pounds. When people are looking to buy on pay-as-you-go, they are
more conscious of the price of the phone than when buying through a contract.
With contracts, the difference between phones is normally a few pounds a month.
When paying up front for a phone, the difference between £150 and £400 is more
compelling and immediate.
SIM free phones
It is
possible to buy phones that are not locked to a network and can be used with
any sim card. These are often more expensive than pay as you go phones, but
provide the opportunity to choose your network and move between networks if you
choose. These unlocked phones are available through many high street shops, and
also online retail stores.
Contract SIMs
A new
innovation in the mobile phone market over recent years has been the
availability of sim card contracts. These provide affordable allowances of
talk, data, and texts in a stand-alone sim. The buyer will not get a phone with
the purchase, but will put the sim card into an unlocked sim free phone of
their choice. The great thing about these sim contracts is they give access to
cheap calls and data without such stringent credit requirements. After all, the
operator does not have to part with an expensive product in the form of a
premium high end phone.
In Summary
In
summary, the 4 main ways to buy phones and air time are suited to different
types of user. You should always be mindful of your budget and not get tempted
into a phone and contract above your financial capacity. It is a dangerous trap
when a household starts buying several phones on contract. It is easy to end up
with outgoings of well over £150 a month and commitments of up 24 months.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment