Are mobile phone contracts in Germany expensive or cheap? After a look abroad, one can say: neither – the prices are so average. Because in some states the prices are higher, in others not.
According to a study, Germany is in the middle of the field internationally when it comes to mobile phone prices. As the study by the digital association Bitkom published on Wednesday shows, mobile phone customers in Spain and Italy have to pay less on average than in Germany. In the USA, Switzerland and Finland, on the other hand, mobile phone contracts are more expensive. There are also countries whose tariffs cost more or less than in Germany depending on the data volume, such as the Netherlands and South Korea.
Tariffs from 80 providers in 12 countries were considered. In an international comparison, the prices are often close together, said Bitkom President Achim Berg. “Germany no longer needs to hide when it comes to mobile communications.” The prices are internationally competitive.
The authors of the study divided the prices into different tariff groups, XS (1 gigabyte data volume), S (3 gigabytes), M (10 gigabytes) and L (40 gigabytes). The volume specifications are minimum values - for example, M is about tariffs with 10, 15 or more gigabytes of data volume. If a tariff has 40 gigabytes of data volume, it falls into the L category.
In tariff group M, customers in Germany pay 26 euros
For tariff group M including 5G use, the authors calculated an average monthly price of 26 euros per month for the various providers in Germany. This value was most expensive in Switzerland (equivalent to around 72 euros per month), and cheapest in Spain (14 euros). Italy was similarly cheap at 15 euros. At 49 euros, Austria was well above Germany’s figure.
The members of the Bitkom association also include the mobile network operators Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica (O2). In about a year, their competitor 1&1 wants to activate the fourth German mobile network for mobile phone customers. When asked whether this would create more competition in the market and lower prices, Berg said that was not clear to him. “The investments are very high, they have to be earned back.” He doesn’t believe that there isn’t “a lot of room” left for price reductions in Germany. However, interim offer “fighting prices” on the market are possible.
Verivox: No significant trend towards cheaper tariffs
Representatives of comparison portals evaluated the results of the study critically. The study shows that German providers perform worse in terms of price, the higher the data volume, Verivox said in response to the Bitkom publication. In countries like Italy, such tariffs are much cheaper. “With high volumes, Germany still has some catching up to do in terms of price,” said Verivox telecommunications expert Jens-Uwe Theumer. However, he does not see a significant trend towards cheaper tariffs.
Manuel Siekmann from Check24 found it regrettable that only the rates from “selected providers” were included. A comparison of all providers is “decisive for the respective price level of a country”. According to the study, the tariffs of nine providers were included in Germany, in addition to the three network operators and 1&1, there were also Aldi Talk and Freenet Mobile. “All those who play a role in the market are taken into account,” said Bitkom President Berg.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
