[3GScottishUser]

Dealers are now offering 18 month contracts on all of 3's main tarriffs to try and generate extra income and make sense of 1/2 price rental deals following similar moves by Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile UK.

Dealers are offering up to 18 months 1/2 price on selected handsets, 15 months on others and the usual 12 months on higher specification phones.

The 12 month option is still available but despite what some have said the 18 month deal looks set to become common for all the networks in their efforts to improve revenues, reduce aquisition costs and reduce churn.

Details of 18 month 3 deals can be found at E2Save (http://www.e2save.com)

[Ben]

I'm hating the networks approach to contracts. Extending the period of the contract isn't the answer to retention!

Most broadband providers managed to do away with 12 month contracts pretty quickly, and instead make you pay for your equipment. Why mobile phones are going the opposite way is beyond me. It's an indication that Three, for all their pricecutting efforts, are just as greedy as the rest of the UK networks at the end of the day.