Want to buy a cellphone?

ADSL South Africa (Broadband South Africa), 14 January 2007

“How to buy a cellphone in South Africa” is the title of a pocket guide recently released by Arthur Goldstuck and Steven Ambrose.

People are spoiled with choice nowadays, not only in South Africa, but elsewhere as well. This fact makes it difficult to get the deal that’s most suitable for you as an individual. I mean almost all of us must have seen someone standing there, looking quite clueless, not in bomb shock though but definitely finding it difficult to make a choice…

Buying something simple like shampoo can become a mission for me personally. It’s no different when one has to choose a cellphone. This is why we’re convinced you will find the mentioned pocket guide useful to say the least.

You mean it’s wrong to be spoiled with choice?

No, there’s nothing wrong with choice but they do use choice to try and pull a blindfold over your eyes. Goldstuck and Ambrose sums it up beautifully: "Here it is not about dividing up the market among the competition but rather dividing up your choices into such a wide range that it becomes almost impossible to negotiate the best possible deal for yourself" (Mobile myth busters, Anderson, January 2007).

Their guide will give you solid guidelines on how to choose the right package and cellphone for yourself ‘by identifying potential pitfalls that enable the mobile operators to make more money out of unsuspecting consumers who haven't analysed their true needs’ (Mobile myth busters, Anderson, January 2007).

For instance: According to them ‘40% of every 60 seconds’ that we pay for are actually wasted because calls are on average ‘shorter than 60 seconds’ (Mobile myth busters, Anderson, January 2007). Based on this fact they recommend we choose ‘per-second billing in almost all instances, though they do warn that the per-second rate can work out more expensive than a per-minute rate if used incorrectly.’ ‘They also warn that not all per-second billing is truly that: you often first pay for a full minute and are only billed on a per-second basis thereafter’ (Mobile myth busters, Anderson, January 2007).

A contract with a ‘“free” phone advertised at say R99 per month’ is another instance where they are out to get you if you’re not careful (Mobile myth busters, Anderson, January 2007).

How can they possibly ‘get me’ with an offer like that?

First of all, they conveniently forget to mention that you will have to pay up for “extras’ like mandatory itemised billing, caller line identity, et cetera. This means that you will not only pay R99 per month but way more.

Secondly, ‘R99/month could also only apply for the first nine or 12 months and not the full 24-month period’ (Mobile myth busters, Anderson, January 2007). Motor dealers especially like to employ this tactic. They will advertise a car at a ridiculous low monthly instalment but fail to mention that the low monthly instalment will only be applicable for the first 6 months or so.

What about all those “free” minutes I get with my contract?

Goldstuck and Ambrose warn against so called “free” minutes you get with a contract especially where those ‘free’ minutes can’t be rolled over to the next month. "This is a legalised form of theft, as the network is in effect stealing your 'free' minutes" (Mobile myth busters, Anderson, January 2007). According to them ‘though the contract might appear to be attractively priced, the airtime profile might not suit a consumer's needs, resulting in their paying more for minutes used outside of their included bundle and wasting the "free" ones’ (Mobile myth busters, Anderson, January 2007).

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