General discussions : General : When did the networks start giving away free phones and minutes on contracts?
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I remember when my sister first got a mobile phone contract (along time before payg), at the time it cost about £17 a month, you didnt get any included minutes and the cheapest phone you could get was £99.
When did the networks start giving phones and minutes away?
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Posted: 2007-05-29 22:13:54
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i think i got mines 1st in 1997 dunno if it was free before then but that was when i first got my mobile contract and the phone was free.
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Posted: 2007-05-29 22:16:43
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Just rang t mobile,got mine 31st sept '97,buy 1,get 1 free.It was a month after Princess Diana died.
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Posted: 2007-05-29 22:51:03
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@JCWhite,
I really can't remember but when i first started selling phones at launch the cheapest car phone was £800 and the only portable was Motorola 8000s @£3,000. It was 25p per minute and you were charged in 1 min increments and when it was peak times you couldn't always get a line.
Although in recent Years the cost of calls and even Data has fallen i have noticed over the last 18 months the Networks are all pushing 18 months contracts and £35 per month spends. The really strange thing is you can get a top of he range device free or at very little cost but will also get people that get middle range phones on these tariffs unaware they could get a better phone still free. But some of the deals are truly stunning i can get a w880 or K810 unlocked and with minimal branding for £20 per month on a 12 month contract which is cheaper than buying it Sim Free by about £20. So in effect i get interest free credit and some minutes and texts to.
IMO Data is where the next revenue stream will come from for the Networks and so far the only Networks to of really cashed in on this are T-Mobile and 3. The latest offerings from the other Networks whilst being better than before are still a joke IMO. At last all those adverts for WAP can be true it is the real full blown Internet on your device and it's only going to get better and faster.
Marc
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Nokia E61 2gb Sandisk, Fring, Tom Tom 6, AD-46 with Black Shure EC2g
[ This Message was edited by: Dogmann on 2007-05-29 21:52 ]
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Posted: 2007-05-29 22:52:42
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Orange have always given away free minutes and they were 10 in 2005
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Posted: 2007-05-29 23:24:13
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remember the orange every day 50 plan, it was like one of the best plans ever released by orange, i know some people still on that plan and orange are still trying to get them off it lol.
with O2 it was the O2 genie plans they were great.
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Posted: 2007-05-29 23:26:05
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@Fatreg,
But then Orange weren't around when the first Networks launched and thanks to Hans Snook that all changed so really i suppose that is the answer to the original question. Which is once Orange joined the launched Networks things changed.
Marc
_________________
Nokia E61 2gb Sandisk, Fring, Tom Tom 6, AD-46 with Black Shure EC2g
[ This Message was edited by: Dogmann on 2007-05-29 22:27 ]
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Posted: 2007-05-29 23:27:18
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Don't exactly KNOW when it started at my end . . . but I joined the 'FREE-phone' bandwagon some years past . . . it's pre-pay that I use more often prior.
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Posted: 2007-05-30 03:48:05
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I got my first phone on contract in either 1998 or 1999 (can't remember exactly) and I got a free Nokia handset and 60 minutes free calls to landlines and other 1-2-1 (now T-Mobile!) phones per month for about £25.
So they've been doing it for a quite a while!
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Posted: 2007-05-30 12:03:18
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vodafone was the 1st network in the UK am i right? if they were does anyone know what the 1st ever vodafone contract deal was??
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Posted: 2007-05-30 22:13:49
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