It’s official: handset “subsidies” are a bad deal

According to no less an authority than the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), so-called “subsidized handsets” don’t generally work out to be cheaper.

Yes, that “free” phone you get when you sign up to a two-year contract isn’t actually free. Agustin Diaz-Pines of the organization’s Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry argued that “handset subsidy” is a misleading term that should be replaced by references to “bundling”. The OECD compared the total cost of ownership of a phone-plus-contract bundle with that of a separate device and contract.