Tips on how to save money on your mobile phone bill
How to save money on your mobile
Friday, 29 Dec 2006 15:42
With festive spending running at record levels, experts have given their tips on how to save money on your phone bill.
Christmas and New Year's Eve are particularly busy times for the nation's mobile phones, with the season of goodwill seeing millions of people get in touch with friends and family they have not spoken to all year.
It is not just phone calls that peak over the holiday season – New Year's Eve regularly records the highest number of text messages sent on any day of the year, while more Christmas texts than cards are now sent in the UK.
With this in mind, Anthony Ball - director of mobile phone comparison site Onecompare.com - has provided an expert guide to getting the best value mobile deal.
And there is a lot of money to be saved by changing deals - with Onecompare estimating changing mobile phone tariff could save you £20 a month.
"If you don’t use your mobile much, switching to a pay-as-you-go service could make more sense," Mr Ball said.
"As a general guideline, if you use a mobile for more than around three minutes and two texts a day a contract gives you more airtime for your money."
However, he added: "If you use over 100 minutes and 60 texts per month, a contract will work out cheaper than a pay-as-you-go."
Onecompare's top tips to get the most from your mobile
Onecompare has released a list of questions mobile phone users should ask themselves before taking out a new contract to ensure they get the best value mobile deal.
How many minutes do you actually use? Pay-as-you-go deals vary, with extra texts and free credit available with some providers.
Do your homework - go over your old bills and figure out just how you use your phone. Are you a talker or a texter?
Are you ringing more mobile numbers than landlines? Are the people you ring on the same network as you or not?
Think about the network coverage you need – if you stay in the countryside, for example, does your current phone give you the coverage you need?
Do you travel abroad and use your mobile regularly?
Customers can pick up a standard contract for around £20 a month, which can include extras such as mobile television, MP3 players, cameras and internet access on a free mobile phone as well as free inclusive minutes and texts.
Competition, from the growth in popularity of free calls made via the internet (known as Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP) using software such as Skype and Vonage, has caused some networks to offer their own broadband packages with new contracts - check it out before you buy.