Pros and cons of pay as you go vs. contract
Many people look at pay as you go contracts as a way to get around long term commitments, but with the emergence of several month contracts from large broadband providers such as Orange, Vodafone, and O2 many people are questioning if pay as you go is still the best choice for occasional mobile use.
The obvious perk of pay as you go plans are that you are not tied down to a monthly contract and are free to change mobiles and mobile usages as you go. Other perks include the ability to pay in advance for mobile use instead of receiving an astronomical bill at the end of the month for those who are not good at monitoring their minutes.
However, there are a few things that you sacrifice when choosing a pay as you go plan versus a contractual mobile contract. Many contracts offer enticement perks such as reduced mobile device prices and in some cases free mobiles or even free laptops.
The mobile broadband contracts also usually offer a discount on minutes and broadband packages that make surfing the web from a mobile affordable and consistent. In other words, while travelling or on the go you do not have to worry that your phone will become inactive.
In exchange, you may end up paying for more mobile broadband usage and mobile minutes than you actually use each month if you do not use a mobile outside of emergencies. You also may miss out on unlimited weekend offers as well as free phone calls from those on the same service.
The only way to decide if pay as you go is the best choice for you is to keep close count of the minutes you use each month as well as your average mobile broadband usage. Compare the value of a thirty day contract or more next to how much it would cost you to purchase the same amount of broadband and mobile minutes and you will have your answer.
Keep in mind that many of the ‘free’ offers that come attached to mobile deals are not really free once you add up the increase of five to ten pounds on your monthly bill over a two year contract.
