UK mobile specialist Phones 4U has announced the national launch of a new phone plan it’s been testing under the name JUMP (Just Upgrade My Phone), which aims to split your usual phone contract in two – one for your minutes, texts and data, plus a separate monthly charge for your handset.
This unbuckling of the two means you’re free to upgrade your phone every six months in return for paying a bit extra for the handset portion of your bill, without going through the hassle of changing networks or arguing about new deals. Like this:
JUMP’s unique proposition is that instead of offering one contract to customers with a mobile network, it’s been broken down into two; one with the airtime provider for minutes, texts and data and one with Phones 4u for the handset, which are both for a minimum term of 24 months. This provides the customer with total ownership of the handset and their monthly pay plan. When customers choose to upgrade, there is no upfront fee involved – they can trade in the handset, which Phones 4u guarantees will be worth at least £100 for the first 12 months[1], along with up to two more, and create a new plan. Alternatively, they do have the option of keeping it for themselves or giving it to someone else.
It takes a bit of understanding, but seems promising enough. Here’s the announcement, which includes all the detail you could ever need. Scroll down to read their example calculations to see how it works. You might need a very strong coffee first, as it’s got lots of sums in.
PHONES 4U LAUNCHES ‘JUMP’
New type of contract gives customers the freedom to change their handset as often as every six months
10th February 2012: Phones 4u is today announcing the national rollout of JUMP (‘Just Upgrade My Phone’) – a new type of contract which enables consumers to upgrade their mobile phone, from a selection of the latest smartphones on the market, as often as every 6 months.
Differing from other flexible offerings on the market, JUMP doesn’t require any upfront fees at the point of upgrade and customers own rather than lease the handset. For the added flexibility of being able to upgrade as often as every six months, customers will only need to initially pay an average added monthly cost of £2.99 – £3.99, dependent on the original JUMP contract chosen.
JUMP has been successfully trialled since May 2011 in 100 stores. The national rollout begins today and the offering is expected to be available in all of Phones 4u’s 586+ stores, via Phones 4u online and via Phones 4u telesales by May 2012. We will also be supporting JUMP as part of a wider multi-million pound ATL Phones 4u campaign this year.
Alistair Firth, Director of Customer Development at Phones 4u said: “Technology is moving fast and innovative handsets are launching all the time on the market but to date there’s been a disconnect between the frequency of smartphone releases and the length of mobile phone contracts on offer.We want to give our customers the freedom to own the very latest smartphones like the iPhone 4S without having to wait 18-24 months for an upgrade. The idea for JUMP was born out of research we conducted that revealed people were frustrated by the inability to upgrade their handsets sooner”.
JUMP’s unique proposition is that instead of offering one contract to customers with a mobile network, it’s been broken down into two; one with the airtime provider for minutes, texts and data and one with Phones 4u for the handset, which are both for a minimum term of 24 months. This provides the customer with total ownership of the handset and their monthly pay plan. When customers choose to upgrade, there is no upfront fee involved – they can trade in the handset, which Phones 4u guarantees will be worth at least £100 for the first 12 months[1], along with up to two more, and create a new plan. Alternatively, they do have the option of keeping it for themselves or giving it to someone else.
“We conducted extensive research prior to the trial and national roll-out to inform the JUMP model and ensure it truly met consumer needs”, adds Firth. “We discovered 18-35 year olds don’t want to return a handset on a leasing model. This is because they are used to keeping handsets as part of their mobile phone contract, they hold concerns over losing data or voiding the warranty if they customize the phone, and worry about paying a surcharge if the phone is damaged. We used these findings to help shape the JUMP offering and believe it offers the best flexibility and benefits of any deal currently available on the market”.
As part of the JUMP service, Phones 4u is also offering remote data back-up and storage for contacts, music, pictures and videos, as well as dedicated customer support accessible via a dedicated number and website. Phones 4u aims to attract new customers with the JUMP offering, who want the option to own the latest smartphones when they want, at an affordable monthly cost, and which offers additional services currently not available as part of other smartphone contracts.
Example plans to upgrade to the new iPhone 4S on JUMP
A customer could take out a standard contract for a non-iPhone device on a £35 a month tariff. Alternatively they could purchase it on JUMP for £37.99 on a 24 month agreement
Today on JUMP £37.99
Split as
Airtime commitment with Orange £15.00
JUMP service agreement 24months £22.99Move to iPhone 4s after 6 months
Balance outstanding on JUMP
= 18months @ £22.99 £413.82
Trade in value of handset* £175.00(You can trade in up to 2 more additional handsets to increase your total trade-in value and reduce your remaining balance further)
Balance remaining £238.82
Split over new JUMP contract (per month) £9.95
(No need to pay upfront)Monthly cost of iPhone 4s on JUMP service agreement £28.49
+ £9.95 over 24monthsTotal new JUMP cost £38.44
Plus airtime (dependent on airtime package chosen) £20.00
New monthly commitment £58.44
Move to iPhone 4s after 12 months
Balance outstanding on JUMP
= 12months @ £22.99 £275.88
Trade in value of handset* £150.00(You can trade in up to 2 more additional handsets to increase your total trade-in value and reduce your remaining balance further)
Balance remaining £125.88
Split over new JUMP contract (per month) £5.25
(No need to pay upfront)Monthly cost of iPhone 4s on JUMP service agreement £28.49
+ £5.25 over 24monthsTotal new JUMP cost £33.74
Plus airtime (dependent on airtime package chosen) £20.00
New monthly commitment £53.74
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SCT
/ February 10, 2012Well that’s crystal clear *blinks*
Gary_C
/ February 10, 2012They say they’ve been trialling it since last May, so clearly come people can understand it all :(
oddbin
/ February 10, 2012If I have done my sums correctly your still better buying the handset sim free and selling it on when your done.
Harold
/ February 10, 2012I guess there’s a market for it, but it seems like making the phone cost more visible in this way only makes it clearer that you’re better off buying the handset sim free.
Adrian68
/ February 10, 2012I suppose for those who want the latest top spec Android (or Windows/iOS) handset, but too much hassle for my liking; as I have a Desire HD and upgrade time is mid april, when the latest high spec come out late may onwards. I imagine that if I go for the SGS2 or HTC Sensation XE successor, that phone will be more than capable for 12-18 months no problem….
mark
/ February 10, 2012the headline is an attention grabber (“serial upgraders” lol), and reading the article, i thought the idea was great…. and then i saw the numbers and got all confused!!!
from what i saw (in the mind boggling calculation), the jump from £37.99 per month to £58.44 is way too much!!!
like the above posts, better to buy the phone rather than go on a 24month contract!
lardboy
/ February 10, 2012This could get very expensive very quickly if you are a frequent upgrader. Continually adding on the old contract amount onto a new contract means you could still be paying off an old phone 3 or 4 years later. It looks like a way of locking people into longer and longer contracts to me. Giff Gaff and outright handset purchases are the way forward.