Mobile phone contracts often get a bad press for the complexity with which they are sold. the combinations of texts, minutes and features on phones – do people really time their calls in minutes? – and overseas tariffs are often seen as vague. Unfortunately, that’s how companies such as Vodafone have to account for their services so it’s perhaps not surprising that they pass costs on and make their earnings in this way.
There are, however, a number of caveats to watch out for when you’re choosing a phone or set of phones and a contract. Think about your needs rather than the technical advice; if you don’t know what a Gigabyte looks like then don’t judge your contract on whether you can upload or download that amount of data.
If you’re in business and will depend on your phone for any length of time then you’re almost certainly better off with a contract than with a Pay as you go (PAYG) phone. Not only will you be better able to predict costs and budget accordingly, but you will never run out of credit at a crucial moment.
For this reason a contract is likely to be the better option. More than that, a business contract is likely to be better value than a consumer contract. the handsets on offer will be different – you’ll get less in the way of frilly colours than you would from a consumer contract, for example – but more importantly, the account management is different.
Most mobile operators offer dedicated account management when you’re on a business contract. This means monitoring your actual use against your projected use to ensure you’re on the best value contract for your needs, including advice on when you should move or not. also the speed with which business customers’ issues are resolved is faster than the operators can offer consumers. Some consumers say this is unfair, but operators are aware businesses will be employing people – they can’t afford to stay still for long before people start losing jobs.
The other thing to consider is that a contract will typically spread the cost of your phone over its term. So if you were a self-employed person wanting an iPhone you can either pay hundreds up front for PAYG or under £50 a month for a fixed term, over half of which will go towards paying the phone off (and which explains why, when you want to upgrade your phone before a contract has expired, it costs so much).
If you’re going to be using a phone for the duration of you contract then it’s worth getting the right one and examining the amount of data and calls you need. then paying for more than you think.
This will almost certainly involve smartphones. these are essentially miniature computers – models include the iPhone, BlackBerry handsets and most Android phones – and they can base a lot of their data in the cloud and keep you connected most of the time. you will be able to reach your online documents through Google Apps and Google Docs (and yes, the Google portals work perfectly effectively through the other companies’ phones), your diary will synchronise with that of your colleagues if you’re using either Google or Apple or a private cloud provider. you will be able to look at documents, videos and use business applications through downloadable apps.
There will be readers looking at this, shrugging and thinking that if they work in a shop there’s no need for all of this elaboration. They will be right – something much more basic is fine. a slimmer phone, something more portable, might be more important than a fully featured model.
If you do need something more featured, make sure you go for the right one. if you need a lot of photographs then something with a good camera and preferably a decent zoom is going to work best, so possibly not an iPhone up to and including the 3GS. if you need high-definition video and ease of uploading it then the iPhone 4 and Android equivalents are the minimum.
Clearly the first thing to do when deciding which data plan you need is to look at how many texts you actually use and what you use your phone for. if email is something you use occasionally on the move, it is best to assume that this will increase – most people end up using more, rather than less, as their business progresses. Most phones are capable of video conferencing these days – this may become important to you.
The trick is not to commit yourself to too much expenditure on data or an overly featured phone for your business – but to ensure that you review your needs frequently so if you have over- or underestimated this can be rectified quickly.
Finally if you get a lot of use from your phone overseas you need to be aware you will be charged more than usual on any contract. following an Ofcom ruling the companies will now send a text when you have reached set limits of data, so that you won’t be surprised by a nasty bill. Overseas data, however, is never, ever, cheap.
Guy Clapperton
Running a small business can be highly rewarding. you spot a gap in the market, set up a business to fill it, do so successfully and you are in a win win-win situation. you keep clients happy, put people in work, and have the pleasure of knowing you have achieved something from scratch. Read More: One Net Express
More about: Android, BlackBerry, contract, iPhone, PAYG, Vodafone