Competition is hotting up in the run up to Christmas, with a number of mobile phone providers offering special deals and promotions to lure the customer.

The Computer Society of Bermuda (CSB) reckons that Digicel has one of the best packages available for new smartphone users with a bundle price of $49 per month for voice, data, text and a monthly Government fee, including a starter data of 4 megabits (MB), 400 minutes of voice and 400 text messages.

The promotion, which normally costs $73 per month, comes with a one-year contract.

M3 Wireless is trying to attract new customers, offering to pay for the first 50 users to switch providers to its service if they buy a new phone for $149 and stay for at least one year.

"It is putting up $200 to get 50 customers to break their contracts with its competitors," said the CSB.

"The value of its promotion is $10,000 to get 50 customers ($200 x 50 people).

"As a business move, this may cover the expense of the promotion plus more - basic voice and data is $43 per month ($516 per year), and the phone is $149, which gives the company $665 baseline revenue from each customer. With over 50 customers, base revenue for the year is $33,250."

But the CSB believes the offer has no real value for customers who would be getting the same price on their phone if they stayed with their original carrier and would probably pay the same price they had been paying each month.

Meanwhile CellularOne is offering equipment discounts of up to 70 percent, most notably cutting the price on its iPhone 3G (8MB storage and 3Mbps Internet chip) by $200 from $699 to $499, with a two-year contract.

The CSB said customers could find deals on equipment and lock in with CellularOne for one or two years, but will have to pay out their contract if they choose to switch.

Elsewhere, the CSB believes that the wireless market in Bermuda is vibrant, but Internet, in particular residential services, on the other hand, were being held back by connection speeds, with many residents still waiting for Internet Service Providers to bring forward the 6Mbps speed.

BTC has launched its 6Mbps DSL unbundled service, however no residential ISPs have been selling their 6Mbps to customers yet, according to CSB.