In an attempt to tailor make a package for you the networks have designed a range of cell-phone contracts. It's best to carefully analyse them all and decide what use you will have for a cell phone. At the end of the day all the contracts build in a healthy profit for the service providers that offer you airtime . Some packages are suited for a person who uses their cellphone frequently, for business, while others, like the weekender, are tailored for the leisure market, or persons less likely to use their cellphones during the week when calls are more expensive.
Cost is therefore the key criteria.
Contracts bundle together various components to make them more appealing. For example, a service provider might offer you a certain make of cellphone at a certain monthly rate set for a year. GSM Direct, a major retailer of cellphones and contracts recently offered a Nokia 5110 at R39 a month for the first year of a contract and R129 for the second year. On top of that payment is required once off for a sim card and a network connection fee, totalling about R200. It's worth remembering that a business contract can work out cheaper than a weekender package.