The mobile industry has become divided into 3 main customer groups, contract mobile phone customers, pay as you go customers, and most recently sim only contract phone users.

The 1st sector are the foundation for mobile companies, minimum term contract mobile users. Until the last few years, phones were usually sold on annual contracts, with the benefit for customers being that they got a free handset upon taking out a contract. Popular since the mid 90s, the year long contract is still a very popular option today, whilst eighteen month and 24 month contract options are growing in popularity all the time. The reasons for this are primarily twofold, firstly handsets seem to be more reliable these days, particularly in terms of battery life time. It used to be true that by the end of your yearly contract, your phone might not even hold its charge for a full day, or in some cases you might have needed to buy a new battery before your contract finished! The second reason for the growth of the eighteen month and 24 month contracts is the free gifts. By committing to a longer term contract, you can benefit from a free laptop or games console on some deals, in addition to your bundled minutes and text allowance. Even if you don't go for a free gift option, you will normally find the minutes and texts bundled with your handset are much more generous compared to the monthly price of a shorter yearly version.

iPhone sims.

The second customer group is the other end of the spectrum - no contract and call time and messages are paid for as required, usually in denominations of £5, £10 or twenty pounds. The obvious target user for this model is children - unable to apply for credit and therefore unable to benefit from the contract mobile phones unless an adult signs up on their behalf. Interestingly, the over 18's account for the majority of the pay as you talk market - demonstrating the appeal of the pay as you go offering against the cheaper per minute and per text contract.

Lastly, the latest arrival to the marketplace is the Sim only offer - a contract which usually lasts only 30 days, and then renews month to month. It is primarily targetted at the sector of the population with existing handsets that arent bothered about getting the latest and greatest mobile phone, instead looking for the best value service. This marks a clear change in the marketplace to value for money in service provision, whereas a lot of advertising spend has historically been aimed at the latest mobiles and the most advanced funcationality.