Jersey Bans 18-Month Phone Contracts

Jersey Telecom says that it has decided to withdraw its 18-month mobile contracts following pressure from the telecoms regulator. The 18-month deals were introduced by JT in April and gave customers cheaper, or in some cases free, facility-rich handsets in return for a longer period of guaranteed service with the company. 18-month contracts are offered in the rest of the UK and are also available to customers in Guernsey.

However, the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority have told Jersey Telecom that customers should not be allowed to choose a longer contract in order to get a better handset deal because they believe it will impede the introduction of competition.

Bob Lawrence, Managing Director of Jersey Telecom said "We launched 18-month contracts to satisfy a clear demand for cheaper handsets. We haven't required anyone to take an 18-month contract and have maintained our 12-month option or pay-as-you-go service, but the new deals have proved popular with customers who want the best price possible on a new handset. We believe that customers are fully aware of competition and expect many people will be disappointed that they are unable to take up our 18-month offer, but under pressure from the JCRA we feel we have no option but to withdraw it."

Posted to the site on 4th September 2006