Sales figures from Broadband Expert show that free laptop mobile broadband contract deals are up by 115% in the first week of December compared to the first week of November, and made up 7/10 of the company’s total contract mobile broadband transactions in this time.

Rob Webber, Broadband Expert’s commercial director, says: “One reason for the boost in ‘free laptop’ sales is that these deals are enticing many Christmas shoppers who were initially looking to purchase a standalone laptop.  ‘Free laptop’ bundles are popular because they allow customers to avoid the upfront cost of a new computer.”

Webber warns that, when making their decision, consumers should be aware that over the term of the contract the cost of the laptop may work out to be up to 20% higher than if it was purchased ‘off the shelf’.  “The term ‘free laptop’ should not be taken at face value,” he says.  “Providers make sure the price of the hardware is recovered by tying consumers into longer contracts in order to make the money back.”

Providers such as T-Mobile and 3 are set to benefit from this festive trend and are driving large volumes of mobile broadband contract sales by offering laptops and netbooks as part of a mobile broadband contract.  However, some companies, such as Vodafone, look to have taken a commercial decision to reduce the number of these deals they are offering. Webber explains: “Whilst this type of promotion can give a big boost to sales figures there is an increased amount of risk to the mobile operator which needs to cover the upfront cost of the laptop or netbook and will typically be exposed to a greater risk of non payment and fraud than with other products”.

Broadband Expert noted a similar trend of increased free laptop sales last year but says that this year’s figures suggest that the volume of free laptop sales will easily surpass the number sold last Christmas.  The company also reports that Pay As You Go mobile broadband sales are up by 18% in the first week of December, 2009 compared to the first week of November, 2009.