Phone contracts on SMARTY: our predictions if they offer them

No phone contracts today but we think SMARTY will in future

SMARTY don’t currently offer phone contracts. They have claimed in the past that they would start offering them, but that was back in 2019. So, we’d say we don’t expect them to bring them literally tomorrow.

But we do think they will introduce phone contracts at some point. And when they do, we think they’ll do something similar to low-cost rivals VOXI and giffgaff by offering what are called “split contracts”.

This would mean the cost of your phone and your usage (mins, texts and data) plans are separated out. One plan to spread the cost of the phone out with a finance agreement (basically a loan). One for your SIM.

These give the flexibility to upgrade early and change your usage plan whenever you want. We think their usage plans would be the same as their range of 1-month SIM only plans. If we know SMARTY, flexibility will be key on their phone contracts.

We also think SMARTY could experiment with “handset leasing” where a network basically lends you a phone for a cheaper monthly price. You’re not buying the phone, you’d have to return it. But handset leasing lets you chop and change devices more often.

Since SMARTY are all about flexibility and low prices, this could be an option they explore. We don’t know. We don’t have insider information.

Useful link: Use our phone comparison tool

What to do if you want a phone contract now

If you want a phone contract while getting access to the Three network then you have two choices. You can either take a phone contract from Three directly, or from iD Mobile who use Three’s network.

Both offer traditional phone contracts. This means you can only get a 24-month contract on either network. These aren’t based on finance, so you can’t upgrade early or switch your usage plan until your contract is up.

You get the same 5G/4G/3G/2G experience on these as you do on SMARTY. The only things you’re missing out on going with iD vs going with Three is their WiFi hotspots on the Underground and Three’s new rewards app.

If you want a split contract, then we recommend looking at VOXI. They use the Vodafone network, but they offer great value phone contracts with a good amount of flexibility on most models. Or you can go with giffgaff, who are similar but use O2’s network.

Or if you want a longer split contract to reduce your monthly costs, then you should look at Sky Mobile or Tesco Mobile on O2’s network, or even O2 themselves. And Virgin Mobile on Vodafone’s network are a good choice too. All offer 36-month split contracts.

Useful link: Use our phone contract comparison tool