{"id":190636,"date":"2017-08-07T07:57:10","date_gmt":"2017-08-07T05:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=190636"},"modified":"2017-08-07T07:57:10","modified_gmt":"2017-08-07T05:57:10","slug":"how-much-your-free-phone-actually-costs-on-your-new-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/mobile\/190636\/how-much-your-free-phone-actually-costs-on-your-new-contract\/","title":{"rendered":"How much your “free phone” actually costs on your new contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

Phone and contract price-tracker Tariffic has released a new report on the actual cost of a smartphone based on Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and Telkom’s most popular contracts.<\/p>\n

The report analysed 3 different subsets of cellphone packages for each of the four major mobile network operators to see how much consumers are paying for their handset on these packages.<\/p>\n

The handsets considered are the Galaxy A5 (32 GB), the Galaxy S8 (64 GB), and the iPhone 7 (32 GB).<\/p>\n

The effective amount that customers land up paying over 24 months is calculated by comparing the \u201cdeal fee\u201d (how much you will pay every month for the contract plus the phone) against the SIM-only fee for the exact same package.<\/p>\n

According to Tariffic, “the results are astounding.”<\/p>\n

“There are cases where you get a great deal on a handset, and receive a substantial subsidy from your network,” said the report.<\/p>\n

“However, in many cases you will actually land up paying more over 24 months for the phone than if you would have just bought it retail from Takealot.”<\/p>\n

Tariffic\u2019s results show the biggest subsidised deals (out of the 3 handsets analysed) are available on the iPhone 7, while MTN and Cell C generally give the largest subsidies.<\/p>\n

The best subsidy available came from Cell C which subsidises an iPhone 7 by nearly R5,500 on a Pinnacle Unlimited package (so you will only pay R8,400 over the course of your contract for a phone that retails for R13,810).<\/p>\n

The worst deal is from Vodacom, where you will land up paying R19,680 for a Samsung Galaxy S8 on their Smart L+ package, compared to the retail cash price of R13,045 from Takealot.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as a \u2018free phone\u2019 when it comes to cellphone contracts,” said\u00a0Tariffic CEO\u00a0Antony Seeff.<\/p>\n

“Sometimes you\u2019ll pay less for your phone and receive a decent subsidy from the networks, but other times it will be better to get a SIM-only deal and buy your phone cash or finance it through your bank\u201d.<\/p>\n