[throwanem]

It's interesting. Here in the US, the people I know who are single are almost universally on prepay, PAYG, or a la carte plans, and just buy our phones outright, because contract pricing works out severely in the carrier's favor. Meanwhile, those with families tend just as strongly toward family-plan contracts which come with a phone per person old enough to need one. I haven't sat down to characterize it in detail, but there seems to be an inflection point in line count past which contract pricing starts to make the most sense.

[kobeya]

Family contracts are a huge savings over individual pay as you go plans.

[metilda]

Not so much, at most you'll save $5 to $10 a line compared to an MVNO. Postpaid carriers primarily make their money by locking you in on plans mis-sized for your needs, does every family member use unlimited data? Rarely.

Equipment protection plans and other similar features are also another profit center to beware of.