More Options, More Flexibility, Fewer Bills

By Author: Yasmin Knight
Total Articles: 4
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During the previous decade, contract mobile phones exploded into the most important thing. More costly phones meant businesses offering longer term deals at higher cost, so unless you wanted to pay out a large amount up front, a contract was the sole option.

That's all different now though, partially as a result of the cost of the handsets. If you own a really good phone, and you’ve looked after it well over a couple of years, why get a new phone when in doing so you'll tie yourself into another twenty four month deal?

Accordingly customers are heading back to pay as you go Sims. Pay as you go is more flexible and providers like GiffGaff are taking advantage of this flexibility to give you and me cheaper deals.

Added to this is the increased ability to unlock a mobile these days, you only truly benefit from these deals if you are able to switch from operator to operator, or if you get hold of a really fantastic offer and stick with it.

Then, there's the fact that contracts are incredibly difficult to amend, what to do if you have a change of circumstances? What if you get a dream job overseas? ...
... Most British mobile networks won't let you to quit a contract unless you're in the army, and even then it's quite tricky, for a lot of people, long term deals are too restricting.

Perhaps the most important reason of them all, of course, is that there's so much more choice with PAYG. There are many virtual mobile network operators out there, and most don’t offer fixed deals, why limit yourself when there's loads of fantastic offers to be found? And from businesses operating off new business models.

If the first ten years of this century were all about clever handsets and long contracts, in 2012 the handsets are just as smart, but this decade is about the comeback of pay as you go.

David Frank is a freelance telecommunications journalist who specialises in mobile phones. He recommends GiffGaff for Pay As You Go Sim Deals.