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A Smartphone for nothing?

smartphone
Is there such a thing as a free phone?
Posting a photo, checking out text messages from your friends, or playing a round of an online game – you can do it all, whenever and wherever you want. Plus, it’s all free of charge. Sounds cool, doesn’t it? Telephone providers often offer the latest mobile phone models free of charge or at very low prices. But making calls, texting and surfing the Internet costs money. That’s obvious enough. The question is, how much? And that is the problem with “free” mobile phones. When a mobile phone that normally carries a big price tag is being offered for free, then it comes with an expensive long-term contract. Do the maths, and you’ll see that even at a very low price, the new smartphone does not come as cheap as you may have thought. In fact, it may even be quite expensive.

Shop around – and compare mobile phone contracts

You want to buy a new mobile? Do the maths: add up the total cost and make a comparison. Check out alternatives – compare different offers. You can save a lot of money that way! For two years, supposedly “cheap” smartphones with a contract often cost more than devices without a contract. Here is a sample calculation.
Smartphone with contract (24 months commitment) Smartphone without contract (same term)
Acquisition costs € 0 € 1.099
Monthly basic fee (comparable service) € 59 € 10
Service fee (1x per year) € 27 € 0
Total costs € 1.470 € 1.339

Check out the numbers!

When you get a mobile phone with a service contract, you will typically have to pay a certain sum per month: the base rate. This is a flat rate which covers a certain number of text messages, minutes of telephone calls, and Internet access.
If you use your mobile phone more, you will have to pay extra. Before signing a service contract, you should get information about each cost item and about the term of the contract.
Find out what will happen if you exceed your allowed data transfer volume: will you have to pay extra, or will the provider just slow down the data transfer speed on your phone?
Early termination of a contract is very difficult once you have agreed to a fixed contract term. You also have to continue making the payments if you lose the mobile, or if it breaks.
After the original contract term has expired, you may still be subject to long notice periods. With a notice period of three months, for example, you have to notify (inform) the provider three months in advance if you want to terminate the contract. The notification often has to be made in writing.
Do not forget any one-off cost items.
Many apps require higher data transfer volumes than you may think. That is because they keep running and stay online even if you don’t have them on your display.
When you are abroad, you will be charged more than at home. Take care to check your mobile’s settings! Some people have had to pay huge sums of money because they forgot to deactivate data roaming functions during a stay abroad. Do not forget to deactivate online data transfer functions. If you are not sure about the technical side of things, just switch off your mobile when you are abroad and enjoy your holiday without being bothered by online stuff.
If you think your mobile bill is incorrect you can turn to the arbitration body of the Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (RTR). It will also help you if you have any other problems with your mobile provider. Find out how on the RTR website.
A Smartphone for nothing?

What Dr. Dr. Money says

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