We compared the prepaid and contract prices from today to those from a decade ago

[mylesillidge]

Smartphone contract prices have surged in South Africa

Telkom said smartphone contract prices have increased disproportionately relative to prepaid prices, as revenue from services that previously helped offset subsidies for contract devices has plummeted.

MyBroadband recently compared the prepaid and contract prices of the most affordable iPhones from a decade ago to today's models and discovered an interesting shift.

 

[Johnatan56]

For example, someone who pays R899 for an iPhone 17 256GB on a Vodacom contract with 3GB anytime data and voice minutes would fork out at least R32,364 over the contract’s duration.

That assumes no annual price increases, which is highly optimistic. Buying the same iPhone on a prepaid plan and a budget credit arrangement with a 20% interest rate would cost R604 less in total

Yep, I think the year of the first price increases on contract was the last year I took a contract (2015ish?).

It's also just odd to take a contract when a credit card is cheaper, and for most your phone should last long enough that you can just wait and save up while you're using your current phone.

The convenience of auto buying data/airtime, there are providers like Afrihost that already do this.

 

[lord-of-war]

Always do the math and see what work out as the best option. Prepaid with upfront phone purchase worked out the best in my case and no bill #&@ with MTN.

 

[NarrowBandFtw]

weird use of terminology here: "prepaid vs contract prices" of a phone

you mean contract prices vs cash prices, you don't know if I buy the phone outright whether I have a contract or not, that's my prerogative ...

been a long ass while since I fell for the mobile contract scam though, people who do are either too lazy or too stupid to do the math

 

[chrisc]

Have not purchased airtime from CellC for over 4 years. 95% of incoming calls are via WhatsApp
I use a VOIP package (Zoiper) for making calls via Abacus Telecomm
My monthly spend on VOIP is under R80
CellC have a 200mb/month annual data package for R299

 

[AnimateX]

Always do the math and see what work out as the best option. Prepaid with upfront phone purchase worked out the best in my case and no bill #&@ with MTN.

I do prepaid also, only thing that worries me is if my phone gets stolen I have no recourse to get my number back.

 

[W@P]

I do prepaid also, only thing that worries me is if my phone gets stolen I have no recourse to get my number back.

Huh, I was not aware of that.

Can anyone explain?

I just cancelled a contract and requested the SIM to be converted to prepaid.
Thinking of going with a PowerFlex package from Vodacom.

 

[AnimateX]

Huh, I was not aware of that.

Can anyone explain?

I just cancelled a contract and requested the SIM to be converted to prepaid.
Thinking of going with a PowerFlex package from Vodacom.

Don't know how it will work if you were formerly on a Vodacom contract. I usually purchase my prepaid SIMs over the counter and in that case if your prepaid Sim gets stolen how are you going to prove you owned that number before to get it back? With a contract your number is tied to their databases as far as I know.

I could be wrong here, but that's why I say it worries me, I'm unsure.