faq
The big mobile operators like Vodafone, Telekom and O2 are often more expensive compared to smaller competitors. What matters when choosing.
Choosing a suitable cell phone plan can be a challenge as the market offers a variety of offers from different cell phone providers. While Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica (O2) are on the rise, Vodafone is seeing a decline in the number of customers in Germany. What role do offers, network coverage and price play when deciding on a mobile phone contract?
Is a long-term contract term sensible?
In the past, the choice of mobile phone tariffs was limited to prepaid or two-year contracts. There are now more options: Tariffs with a monthly notice period or no notice period at all, contracts without a fixed term but with automatic package follow-up booking and classic prepaid or fixed-term contracts. Customers usually have the choice between greater flexibility and lower prices.
“For most consumers, we recommend a mobile phone tariff that can be canceled monthly or a prepaid card if you use the phone sporadically,” says Peter Lassek from the Hesse consumer advice center in an interview tagesschau.de. Because that keeps you flexible: If, for example, the need for telephone minutes or the demand for network quality changes, the tariff can simply be changed.
Tariffs with a contract can also be cheaper than flexible offers. According to Lassek, an all-network flat rate is worth around 250 minutes of calls and text messages per month. If you use your mobile phone less often, you can save with variable tariffs without a flat rate. Frequent callers who use their mobile phone for more than three or four hours a month should choose the all-network flat rate option. Before concluding a contract, consumers should estimate how much they surf the Internet each month. Because with three gigabytes and more there is hardly a tariff without an all-net flat rate.
fare conditions vary
According to the Federal Network Agency, the initial minimum term of a contract is a maximum of 24 months. In addition, the telecommunications providers must also offer a contract with a maximum term of twelve months. In general, mobile phone providers offer more attractive conditions for longer contracts, such as lower monthly costs or more included data volume.
However, fare conditions may change over time. If after a year all providers update their tariffs and offer more data volume for the same price, customers with a two-year contract may be left with the smaller data volume.
What is the difference between the mobile networks?
There are currently three leading mobile operators in Germany and each of these operators operates its own mobile network: Deutsche Telekom operates the D1 network, Vodafone operates the D2 network and Telefónica Deutschland operates the O2 network. A fourth cell phone network from 1&1 is still under construction. In addition to these main providers, there are numerous other providers, including mobile phone discounters such as Aldi Talk or congstar, who buy services, i.e. minutes, SMS and data, from the major providers.
Customers always surf and make phone calls in one of these three networks, which, however, differ significantly in quality – depending on the location. “Especially in some rural regions, the networks are worlds apart. In many large cities, on the other hand, you often hardly notice a difference,” says Peter Lassek from the Hesse consumer advice center.
In order to find out which cell phone network is currently being used, the cell phone number can be obtained from the Mesh Query be entered. With the Mobile communications card from the Federal Network Agency consumers can check the network coverage at their respective place of residence.
Are third party providers worth it?
While the larger network operators already offer the 5G mobile standard in almost all of their range of tariffs, most third-party providers continue to rely exclusively on LTE and have to save on the service. The Internet speed is also significantly lower compared to the premium providers.
Furthermore, the network operators often have current mobile phone contracts on offer, while many discounters do not yet offer combined packages such as mobile phone, landline and Internet. Additional services such as eSIM or partner cards are primarily provided by the network operators. Aldi Talk and Co. can often offer mobile phone tariffs at more favorable conditions. One reason for the low prices is that they usually only sell their tariffs online.
How cheap are Germans Mobile phone contracts?
The German mobile phone tariffs are in the middle compared to other large industrialized countries. The tariff landscape is only cheaper in Italy and Spain. This is shown by the results of a comparative study of mobile communications markets in twelve countries by the market research company Tarifica on behalf of the digital association Bitkom. “Especially people with a small budget will find particularly inexpensive mobile phone offers in Germany,” says Bitkom President Achim Berg.
In tariff profile S with at least three GB data volume per month and two Mbit/s download speed, Germany has the third cheapest average price and is in the middle with the cheapest tariffs, from seven euros per month, and the most expensive tariffs. In contrast, the markets in Switzerland, the USA and Finland are the most expensive.
Which providers are terminated the most?
Vodafone is currently struggling with challenges, particularly in Germany, its most important market. Loss of customers and declining revenue from services are burdening the company. Vodafone attributes its losses to the challenging market situation with inflation and the revision of the Telecommunications Act (TKG), which has been in force since December 2021. The new version of the TKG also included a revision of the rules for the automatic renewal of mobile phone and internet contracts.
According to the statistics of the contract and termination service Volders, most contracts with Vodafone were terminated last year. As early as 2021, the mobile communications provider recorded the highest number of customer losses and Vodafone also took first place in the evaluation for 2022 with over 30,000 terminations. Telekom and Telefónica (O2) follow in second and third place.
The main reasons for the terminations are “too high costs” and “financial reasons”. At Vodafone, 31 percent of customers give these reasons, while at Telefónica (O2) it is 36 percent. At Telekom, more than 51 percent of those terminating give financial reasons for terminating the contract. In the case of Vodafone and Telefónica (O2), on the other hand, the “value for money” is weighted more heavily. In addition, “poor customer service” and “relocations” also play a role in the terminations.
What is the best cell phone network?
In December 2022, the specialist media “Connect” and “Chip” published their annual ratings of German mobile networks, while Stiftung Warentest carried out its own tests in April 2022. In the tests, all three mobile networks have recently improved. The matching test results showed that Deutsche Telekom’s network performed best. Vodafone’s network took second place. The Telefónica (O2) network came in third.
Which providers still have dead spots and whether 2G, 4G or 5G is being used can also be found on the Dead zone map from the Federal Network Agency see.