Shorten 24-month telco contracts

It is hard to believe that telcos still impose a 24-month term on their contracts.

In the past, it was an easy decision to sign such contracts, as technology was not as advanced and there were not many changes during the 24 months.

However, times have changed.

Today, you see new gadgets and new offerings from the telcos almost every day.

Yet, consumers are still tied for such a long period.

Certainly, there are trade-offs between being on contract and not being tied to one. But when I look at my monthly bill these days, the "savings" of being on a contract are not great.

Also, we used to get the latest handsets free when we renewed our contracts. But these days, we have to fork out hundreds of dollars for the latest models.

Hence, is it still fair for telcos to have a 24-month contract?

Perhaps a 12-month contract would be better.

Malcolm M Noronha

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 21, 2016, with the headline Shorten 24-month telco contracts. Subscribe