Actually, people in the UK usually buy on 12-18-24 month contracts too, though I don't. The total saving that you get is relatively minimal (£40 across 2 years?

Actually, people in the UK usually buy on 12-18-24 month contracts too, though I don't. The total saving that you get is relatively minimal (£40 across 2 years?), but you get shackled to the one provider. So I just buy the phone separately. However, you're right that, e.g., in Switzerland, people don't tend to buy phones with contracts.