If you hate being stuck to a fixed price plan, then prepaid plans are the best for you. However, over time, it makes much more financially sensible to go on a monthly contract and get the benefits attached to such deals.
Alternatively, the best Zero rupee deals with free minutes are on contracts and if you don’t mind the commitment to a 12 or 24 month contract, it will save you money over the long term.
For individuals in Sri Lanka, there are two key types of mobile phone connections referred to as PrePaid and Post-Paid.
What are Prepaid deals?
As the name suggests prepaid means paying up-front for pre-determined amount of calls and having to recharge the prepaid account to make new calls once that credit has been used up or has periodically expired. These Prepaid plans conventionally involve higher per minute call charges than their counterparts (i.e post-paid deals).
Prepaid has the distinct benefit of allowing full control of your mobile bills as you only recharge when you run out of credit. Prepaid is excellently working for teenagers as you can control the cost by restricting recharges, comfortable in the knowledge that there are going to be no hidden surprises at the end of the month as you are not allowed to spend more than you pay upfront.
What is Post-Paid?
With Post-Paid deals, your service provider in Sri Lanka allows you to call whenever you want, for as long as you want and allow you to pay your bill at the end of a billing period for the amount you use. This means your service provider is authorizing you to accrue a bill and pay it later (post / after the event) which amounts to certain form of credit (In the same way, you get a loan from a bank). Certainly, this will also mean that you need to possess a favorable credit history to be accepted as a Post-Paid customer. The most popular widely used type of Post-Paid mobile deal in Sri Lanka is the 12 month contract where customers can find the best prices on mobile phones.
What is referred to as a Cap Plan?
Cap plans have pretty much taken over the mobile market in Sri Lanka recently, with all service providers promoting their cap plans as their lead offers to new customers. Most importantly, a cap plan is NOT actually capped at an absolute amount. Rather, these capped plans are actually capped at a pre-determined value and then any usage above this pre-defined amount will incur additional charges.
Even though cap plans are named incorrectly, stop hating them, because they can be great at controlling your expenses.
Currently in Sri Lanka, most broadband providers use this mechanism in their pricing structure.
Click here to view mobile broadband providers with a cap price
Should I Buy my Phone Outright, or Get a Free Phone on a Contract?
Many people in Sri Lanka get very confused at deciding which method is best for them. To get a real economic understanding of mobile phone contracts and mobile phones, confusedlanka.com says you need to think like a modern mobile phone service provider.
If a customer is locked in for a period of two years, a service provider can reward them with a new phone as they can wear the cost of the phone across the entire two years of the plan. For those customers who are Pre-paid or have no contract and may intend to leave tomorrow, there is less in the carrier's budgets for extras like subsidized mobile phones as there is less certainty about the revenue generated from such customers.
In conclusion, consumers usually attract less love from the service providers for the lower commitment and locking in for a contract will usually save you money over the long term.
Network Coverage
The most important aspect to coverage is to think about the places that you are going to use your mobile phone as there is nothing more frustrating than a bad connection in a key place like your home or the office.
Talk to each provider about their coverage maps and their future coverage strategy as they are always rolling out new towers and their next tower might give you the perfect coverage at home or in the office.
All mobile service providers in Sri Lanka have their best coverage across the cities (Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Anuradhapura etc) and large Sri Lankan towns (Maharagama, Moratuwa, Kalurata, Matale etc) as this is where the major populations are. In regional areas, long standing providers are the clear winners in terms of coverage.
What is a Data Plan / Mobile Internet?
A few years ago, access to the internet on your mobile phone was extraordinarily expensive and an unrealistic option for most of Sri Lankans. Now most new phones allow you to browse the internet on your mobile phone with ease. You’ll need a data plan with an allocated allowance or else you are still going to pay higher rates.
Applications like Maps, Email,Video and Face book and even skype on your mobile phone use mobile internet data so if you plan on using these a lot, you will need a data plan.
Click here to view mobile internet deals
Compare and Save with confusedlanka.com
Whatever you intend to do and wherever you intend to go, make sure you compare mobile phone deals to ensure that you are on the right plan for your needs. Confusedlanka.com has compiled this guide for you to arrive at the best decision.
COMPARE THE BEST MOBILE POST PAY DEALS | |||||||||
DEAL PROVIDER | CALLING TARIFF | TOTAL MONTHLY COST | SMS TARIFF | APPLY ONLINE | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First Min | Second Min | Other NetWorks | Monthly Rental | Same Network | Other Networks | Other Features | |||
Rs 1 | Rs 1 | Rs 2 | Rs 300 | Rs 862.50 (Monthly) | 0.25 Cts | 0.25 Cts | Free 250MB data | ||
Free 250 minutes D2D outgoing Free 250SMS to D2D | i250Package | ||||||||
Rs 1 | Rs 1 | Rs 2 | Rs 100 | Rs 875.00 (Monthly) | 0.25 Cts | 0.25 Cts | N/A | ||
Free 100 minutes D2D outgoing | i100Package | ||||||||
Rs 1 | Rs 1 | Rs 2 | Rs 190 | Rs 877.50 (Monthly) | 0.10 Cts | 0.25 Cts | Rs 40 worth of data | ||
Rs 150 worth of free local calls, SMS,MMS | mPowerPackage | ||||||||
Rs 1 | Rs 1 | Rs 2 | Rs 390 | Rs 927.50 (Monthly) | 0.10 Cts | 0.25 Cts | Rs 90 worth of data | ||
Rs 300 worth of free local calls, SMS,MMS | mPowerPackage | ||||||||
Rs 1.50 | Rs 1.50 | Rs 2.50 | Rs 500 | Rs 975.00 (Monthly) | 0.25 Cts | 0.25 Cts | Free 150 SMS | ||
Free 250 minutes D2D and Free 100 D2ND outgoing | i500Package |