New Smartphone Price Tracker Shows the Launch of New Mass Market Tariffs in Developed and Developing Countries

29 Jul 2010 • by Natalie Aster

London: Tariff Consultancy Ltd (TCL) - an expert in global telecoms tariff research - with the launch of its latest product the ‘Smartphone Tariff Tracker' finds that consumers and businesses in both mature and emerging markets are benefitting from the launch of new smartphone devices at more competitive price points for Pay Monthly and even Pre Pay segments.

The Smartphone Tariff Tracker has in-depth information for BlackBerry, iPhone, iPad and other Smartphones with price plans from around the globe in an easy-to-use format.

It is based on extensive research conducted with 164 operators across 119 countries and includes some 989 tariff packages complete with up to date analysis. Some of the findings from the first edition include:

• Traditionally a premium Smartphone product, the iPhone is now seeing entry level products are as low as Euro 3.50 a month including 100 MB from Vodafone India
• In developed markets the iPhone is seeing larger bundles and premium tariffs for Euro 166.67 a month including 5,000 minutes of domestic calling, 100 minutes to Europe, 1,500 SMS, unlimited data and Wi-Fi with the iPhone 8 GB at no charge from TIM Italy.
• BlackBerry's lowest inclusive allowance is 400 kbytes offered by Orange in Romania for Euro 4.20 with more than half of the BlackBerry offerings including unlimited data usage.

"The Smartphone Tariff Tracker' service provides real insight into the increased choices available to the consumer and business user", commented Margrit Sessions, Managing Director of Tariff Consultancy Ltd.

"In mature markets the smart phone is typically sold as part of a Pay Monthly package with the MNO partly or wholly subsidising the purchase cost of the handset in return for an 18 month or 24 month contract term. There are increased signs that smart phones are also being sold into the Pre Pay sector, with individual MNOs providing ‘entry-level' tariffs based on a "daily" usage rate. An example is offered by Zain in Jordan which has a Euro 1.14 daily rate for smartphone users" she added.