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Connections for all seasonsTHE SA cellphone rental market is worth R36-million a year as renting a phone becomes a popular option for visitors to the country as well as local travellers. "It's important that this market is seen in context," says Manne Padowitz, managing director of GSM Renta Phone. "Many people think that renting a cellphone is an argument against buying a cellphone - it's not, the rental market is highly specialised and doesn't really touch on the broader cellphone market. It runs in tandem with it," he says. So who rents cellphones? Padowitz says the list reads like an international who's who. "Hilary Clinton, Phil Collins, Whitney Houston, the Australian cricket team and the Pope's bodyguards are just some of the people who have hired cellphones while visiting South Africa. "International tourists often rent phones just to be able to stay in touch with home from wherever they are or to help them get around. They feel reassured that if they do get lost, help is only a phone call away and they don't have to go hunting for a phone. "Visiting business people also find cellphones useful in South Africa because they pay local rates. It costs less than R12 a day to hire a phone and the calls are charged at about R2,25 a minute - rates do vary," says Padowitz. It's a significant saving for any person conducting business abroad because of how international cellphone calls are billed. Someone on business in South Africa from Britain could bring along a cellphone with a card linked to the cellular British network. Because of roaming agreements between networks, the phone can be used in South Africa but the subscriber picks up the bulk of the call charges. This is because it is assumed that a caller does not know that the subscriber is abroad - so when the call leaves the country of origin, in this case Britain, its route to and from its borders is billed to the subscriber and can cost a fortune. People who rent cellphones also have more control over the business environment in which they operate. Being too contactable because many people have your cellphone number can be a burden - hiring a handset means you tend to make rather than receive calls. "Hiring a cellphone offers business people flexibility. People attending a convention, for example, can hire a phone for the length of time they expect to be out of the office. On average, cellphones are hired for eight days at a time." While cellphones have obvious business benefits, many families use them in their leisure time. When they are on holiday, many people hire a cellphone so they can be contacted when away from the home and business phones - and so they can get help if there is a problem on the road.
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