Available from the 17th of July, 3 is to launch Sim Zero £0 per month contract, which according to a post on t3, “Sim Zero genuinely offers you something for nothing.”
Which puts in mind the old saying…you get nothing for nothing…so basically you don’t get free calling or free texting, but you do get free Skype-to-Skype calls and instant messaging.
So basically 3 makes money off the other stuff they know you are going to use, such as standard calls at 20p per minute, 10p per text, and 30p per MB of data other than Skype of course. 3 also recommends you use the Sim Zero sim in a 3 handset such as the INQ1 or Skypephone S2 which will cost an additional £69.99.
3 goes beyond recommending you use the SIM in a 3 handset - you ‘have’ to use it in a 3G handset (any network) and if you want to take advantage of the free Skype to Skype calls it currently ‘has’ to be a 3 handset. Although you can buy a new 3 PAYG handset for as little as £39.99 these days.