This is particularly so when it comes to contracts. O2 (check network coverage) [E-Plus is now O2] (check network coverage) Generally speaking, there are two different types of networks in Germany: D-network (mostly used by T-Mobile and Vodafone) and E-network (mostly used by O2). We will endevor to keep this article up-to-date! Prices are the highest in the country but look out for data deals as there are often good offers available. Find the best German mobile phone contract with our help. Again, T-Mobile is by far the best network in Germany. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the pricing of these three main providers mirrors their quality: T-Mobile is the most expensive, followed by Vodafone, with O2 coming in as the cheapest. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. To connect to the Network in Germany, you should not leave the area of WiFi hotspots or have to pay for roaming to your mobile provider. Other providers (such as Deutsche Telekom) offer the option to use your phone in Switzerland as well for normal conditions. This has no bearing on the price of the product or service. If you prefer good reception both in cities and in rural areas and fast mobile internet you should pick one of the D1 network contracts. PremiumSIM 2. You must give a valid address in Germany in order to buy a prepaid German mobile phone SIM card. For most people, winSIM’s packages will be fine, but you should consider something else if you need to make calls regularly outside of major urban areas or need a higher data volume. Deutsche Telekom has been rated best German mobile network 3 times in a row by several popular consumer magazines, such as ‘Connect’ and ‘Chip’. They’re the only network offering an LTE speed similar to what you might expect from standard fibre optic broadband via a landline. Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile network offers the best coverage, closely followed by Vodafone and then finally O2 (which is owned by Spanish telecoms giant Telefónica) offers the patchiest coverage. Slightly more expensive compared to other mobile providers. You will find new and used cars, as well as motorhomes, motorcycles and utility vehicles at mobile.de – Germany's largest vehicle marketplace online United States Dollar $ Euro € Pound Sterling £ Naira ₦ South African Rand R Australian Dollar $ These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. If you’re signing up to anything other than a prepaid plan, you’ll also be subjected to a credit check on top of this. In addition, the price of data bundles with a German calls and data package tends to be more expensive than other EU countries. The majority of our time (about 8 days) will be spent in the Munich area. Mobile network operators & Internet service providers in Germany. We walk you through signing up on winSIM’s website though in the video below. As such, all the call and data recommended below are SIM-only. Whatever your needs are, with our help you will find the best German mobile contract! So as soon as better deals are available we will let you know about them. As you can see, there are no clear cut winners and losers. As mentioned before, Deutsche Telekom is known for having the best mobile network quality of all German mobile providers. 1&1 has been rated as the best German phone provider in recent years in several leading customer magazines. We strongly recommend Tarifhaus for anybody who is looking for a good compromise of good prices and quality plus the advantage of being very flexibel. It’s worth noting that German mobile phone contracts are notoriously inflexible (much like German contracts in general). What sounds like a neat option is actually something that can cost you a lot of money. Before we begin, there are a few things to bear in mind: This is a constantly changing marketplace, and there are always new deals and products on the horizon. A standard German cellular contract is 24 months, with no opportunity to cancel at your convenience. But quality comes at a price, which in this case is slightly higher costs than other German mobile phone providers. Mobile phone Germany contract overview: If you were good enough to go through your anmeldung and open a bank account before, you are then able to sign for a contract at one of the following German mobile phone contract providers. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. The fact remains that Germany is punching well below its weight in terms of mobile network speeds. The Best Mobile Network Operators in Germany Deutsche Telekom – The Largest Network in Germany With 44.657 million users, this company is the main telecommunication company in the whole country. A mobile network operator or MNO (also known as a wireless service provider, wireless carrier, cellular company, or mobile network carrier) is a provider of wireless communications services. Network coverage in GERMANY A key part of any mobile phone specification is its operating frequency bands. © 2016 – 2021 Live Work Germany, All Rights Reserved. A key part of any mobile phone specification is its operating frequency bands. Company Registration Number 11833746, Registered Address: Suite 2A, Blackthorn House, St. Paul’s Square, Birmingham B3 1RL, United Kingdom. Our recommendations are a couple of paragraphs below, if that’s all you came for and you need a quick answer without reading the whole article! And believe us, signing up with the wrong internet provider can be a costly mistake. The packages we’ve listed above represent the best prices on each network for the different levels of usage. But if you don’t mind paying a bit more in order to get the best network quality, then Deutsche Telekom is your best pick. As mentioned before, we are only comparing the best mobile phone providers in Germany, which is why this list is not complete, but it will be frequently updated. So it’s always best to study the small print if you’re not sure. Unless you’re making a lot of business calls to German landlines or mobiles, trust me, it really doesn’t make sense to sign a fixed-term contract. LTE max. Deutsche Telekom should be your No.1 choice if you are looking for great mobile network quality. Best German Internet Providers. So just follow our advice and block those 3rd party providers from the start and safe yourself a lot of trouble. This is a pay monthly plan, automatically debited (so you don’t have to keep buying prepaid cards or top up online). This network is called D-Netz and has the best coverage in Germany. Germany is well behind its European neighbors when it comes to coverage with high-performance mobile network technology, a study shows. Luckily Tarifhaus offers different options for all needs. You get what you pay for but the contrast can be quite stark with T-Mobile being considerably more expensive than O2. Live Work Germany and liveworkgermany.com are trading names of James Meads Media & Consulting Ltd. There are four main providers in Germany: T-Mobil (D1, www.t-mobile.de ): operated by the former state monopoly Deutsche Telekom. So if you have perks such as unlimited airtime, or inclusive minutes and data, then these still apply when recieving or making calls abroad. That being said, some of the cheaper SIM-only plans out there specifically exclude the abiltiy to roam with your SIM. It simply depends on your needs: Do you need a lot of mobile internet, or do you need free minutes and SMS? These mobile providers generally ask for a local Bank account and a local address. ... Germany. I hope that in no time you’re happily enjoying cat videos on Facebook with your new German SIM! Deutsche Telekom has been rated best German mobile network 3 times in a row by several popular consumer magazines, such as ‘Connect’ and ‘Chip’. limit my search to r/germany. If your focus is on having a great deal and pay as little as possible for good quality net coverage than the E-Netz is your choice with prices starting at 9,99€ per month. Quality comes with a price though, which you should be aware of. Try our corporate solution for free! ✅ 6 month contracts When you try to get your money back this is almost always impossible as those Drittanbieter are mostly located somewhere abroad. Many choices to get the best deal for you personally, no matter if you need a lot of mobile data or if you prefer to get the newest smartphone. A great advantage of 1&1 is that you can choose between different mobile networks. If you prefer flexibility you better sign up for a contract that can be quit on a monthly basis. At the moment, the maximum speed for LTE is 50Mb/s, which is probably faster than your internet at home. speed of up to 225MBit/s, which is probably even faster than your internet at work or at home. These are usually paid via direct debit, but you can cancel them with only one calendar month’s notice, affording much more flexibilty than an iron-clad contract.  Weaker signal in rural areas. It’s very hard to cancel them, even if you’re leaving the country and can prove it. Some things you need to decide for yourself are whether you prefer a cheaper phone provider, or if your main focus is on fast mobile internet, etc. If you are looking for a cheap contract go for an option with o2-Telefonica network. Network coverage in GERMANY. Once you even ran out these 3 extra times they will cut your mobile internet speed until the new month. As such, I’ve not included fixed-term contracts here. Telekom Deutschland has the best mobile network of all four mobile operators in Germany, according the annual network test executed by German online ICT magazine Chip Online. Now let’s move on and get the other bad news out of the way first: Compared to other countries, your German mobile phone package probably won’t seem that great (unless you’re coming from the US or Canada!). Deutsche Telekom should be your No.1 choice if you are looking for great mobile network quality. So which one is the best SIM card in Germany for students? Not only can you choose to have flat-rates and extra fast internet, you can also save some money if you don’t need a new mobile phone, or if you are under 25 (or even 29 if you are a student). If you don’t cancel before this 24 month period is up, most contracts have an automatic renewal clause which immediately ties you in to another 12 months! Either way, the following mobile carriers offer special discounts for students and young people and will definitely save you money compared to their standard offers. Or if you don’t find that option online in the interface of your account make sure to call the hotline and request this. ✅ Fast mobile internet with LTE Heavy data usage and fast download speeds are the things most likely to increase your monthly bill. Price: From £6 to £25 SIM-only | Find out more at … But, importantly, it allows you to cancel with 1 month’s notice. We therefore STRONGLY recommend not to sign a long-term contract and to go with post-paid options instead. Your service provider will then add this on top of your monthly bill. O2 Mobile Contracts are a great choice for all that want to save some money but still need full LTE speed. If you are not sure how long you will stay in Germany, signing up for a monthly contract would be a great idea. This map represents the coverage of 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G mobile network. There are way too many internet providers out there to not get lost. Freenet and winSIM tend to offer the best deals in the vast majority of cases for their respective networks, depending what you’re looking for. So if you are going to live in a very remote area, or if you travel a lot, then Deutsche Telekom is a very good choice. ✅ Flatrate for calls within Germany and flatrate for SMS With this in mind, I would strongly advise that you opt for a SIM-only plan. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the pricing of these three main providers mirrors their quality: This is why we decided to update this page and give you an overview of the hidden cost that can drive your monthly phone bill up. Answer 1 of 3: Hello, My husband and I will be travelling in Germany, Austria and Switzerland during May 2014. After sorting out your German mobile phone provider it is time to consider signing up with a German internet provider or get German cable TV. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. This data depicts the estimated revenue share of network and service providers in the mobile communications market in Germany in 2020. The best mobile network in Germany is Telekom. ✅ Very fast mobile internet with LTE ✅ Very fast mobile internet with LTE speed Especially within notorious areas in Berlin such as Eberswalder Strasse, where you have 0 signal for example with O2, Telekom is your best choice. This another benefit of SIM-only’s flexibility. It depends on your budget and how much you travel outside of major metropolitan areas. 1&1 is using the same network as Deutsche Telekom. This means that they are probably a good pick already, as many of your friends might have a contract with them. o2 recently became the biggest German mobile provider after merging with Eplus. When comparing the rates for similar packages, you will see that Deutsche Telekom is slightly more expensive than other German mobile providers. If you do not need a mobile flat rate for all German mobile providers, or the fastest mobile internet available, then you just pick the package that suits you best, which means you can save a lot of money. ✅ Very competitive prices. As with the other networks, customers will be able to use their UK minutes, texts and data for no extra charge. With this I’ve made the assumption that internationally mobile people are less likely to want to bind themselves into long contractual commitments. ✅ Great mobile network quality This guide’s been put together with the needs of expats in mind. use the following search parameters to narrow your results: subreddit:subreddit find submissions in "subreddit" author:username find submissions by "username" site:example.com find submissions from "example.com" url:text search for "text" in url selftext:text I have selected what I think is the fairest plan but feel to explore. On the other hand, if you’re going to be making lots of calls from rural areas, or on an intercity train or from your car on the Autobahn, then I can pretty much guarantee that an O2 SIM will be useless. There are ways round this, even if you’ve not found a permanent address yet, or you’ve not yet registered i.e. Right now our clear No 1 pick for a mobile phone contract in Germany is 1&1 Internet. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. ✅ Many different options Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. This means that usually, even in the most remote German village, with Deutsche Telekom you will have strong signal for calls and mobile data. Network coverage > Germany 3G / 4G / 5G coverage map, Germany Cellular data networks in Germany . For example, if you live in a large city like Berlin and rarely leave the city to visit more rural areas, you’ll probably be fine using O2. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. So I am listing the two best mobile carriers which I have personally used. The largest mobile network providers in Germany are Vodafone, T-Mobile and Telefonica O2. Naturally the longer the contract runs the higher are the bonuses or discounts that the providers might offer. It’s probably best to give a cheaper network a try first, and then switch if you find the coverage to be poor. ✅ Good reception in cities It offers customers 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE services. For complete transparency, I’ve indicated the last time the article was updated. Plus 1&1 is know for their excellent customer service. Thank you for supporting us - we appreciate it! So here’s one tip: if you do live in a village, the best thing to do would be to ask your neighbors which German mobile provider they are with, and how good – or bad – their signal usually is. A great choice for your new mobile phone provider is 1&1. If you are only looking for the cheapest option available, don’t sign up with Deutsche Telekom. See also : mobile bitrates map and Vodafone Mobile, O2 Mobile, T-Mobile mobile networks coverage. It is true that Deutsche Telekom is a bit more expensive than other German phone providers, but in return you get the best network coverage in Germany. If you want to check out some of the other major phone providers in Germany, have a look at Vodafone, Congstar, and Yourfone. ✅ Cheap starter packages to pricier high speed packages I am a student so the word “best” has been automatically interpreted as “cheap and best” by my mind. Also some companies will offer contracts that can be terminated monthly while other contracts are for a minimum duration of 24 months. Also know as Telekom, it is considered the largest European provider in the entire continent thanks to its revenues (€75.66 billion in 2018). (212) 419-8286 Reliable and constant Internet connection is a prerequisite to fulfill all these desires. Vodafone Hit by Three-Hour Mobile Network Outage in Germany The German unit of British-based Vodafone, the telecoms group with the most users in Europe, said its network … Note: This list of network deployments does not imply any widespread deployment or national coverage. There are hundreds of SIM card providers and deals available in Germany, which may seem daunting. However, I can’t tell you how you could get a prepaid card from them, as due to anti-terror-laws, you might need a permanent residence for that. What happened in the past that some malicious websites might have installed some code that made you book some services in the background (like sex-sites) and then charge you for it. If you are travelling a lot, also in more rural areas, then you should rather opt for D-Netz or LTE max contracts, which are slightly more expensive and start with 14,99€ per month, but offer the best reception possible. Disclosure: Some of the links contained in this article are affiliate links, meaning we receive a small commission for any sales resulting from these clicks. Datenautomatik means that after you used up your monthly limit of mobile data the provider is allowed to book up to (usually) 3 times per month some more mobile data for extra cost. done your Anmeldung with city hall. They are very restrictive when it is about providing a sim card and good data plan in Germany. The best mobile phone deals for the … You never know, if you need to move away again from Germany at least you are not stuck with a 24 months contract. Find the best internet provider in Germany with our help. ; Vodafone (D2, www.vodafone.de ): Formerly Mannesmann, the D2 network was taken over by Vodafone and is aggressively trying to expand market share. 1. We have been made aware that some people were charged more than they should have been with their contract and they did not understand why. As already mentioned, o2 has good reception in German cities. However, keep in mind that this flexibility will come with higher costs than signing up for a 24 month contract, for example. Deutsche Telekom has won every test regarding quality of net coverage and quality in the last couple of years. O2 which acquired E-Plus is probably the slowest but has the cheapest plans by far. If you need very fast mobile internet, make sure to sign up for a contract that includes the LTE option. Interestingly, even though O2 has by far the worst network coverage, their bandwidth for data appears to be the best. Giffgaff: The best for low-cost, high-data deals. For technical details on 5G NR and a list of its designated operating frequencies, bands, and roaming possibilities, see 5G NR frequency bands.. Commercial deployments. ✅ Many different options General information. There is also a third option: to get a SIM card with mobile data transfer. The simplest way to make a saving when choosing your German mobile phone package is to seriously consider your data needs. You only pay for what you really need. Quality comes with … At the dawn of 5G in Germany, this report provides an overview of the current mobile experience on the country's 3G and 4G networks. Tarifhaus will be a perfect fit for anybody who is looking for a contract with, ✅ 8GB of mobile Data with LTE speed This is probably 10 times faster than your internet at home! And that’s not something you’d want to commit to for 2 years. Deutsche Telekom is the largest provider in the country, previously named T-Mobile. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. But if you are in need of fast mobile internet and great network coverage throughout Germany then Deutsche Telekom is your best pick. Comparison Best German Mobile Phone Providers, This website uses cookies. Make sure that with your new contract you also check the box “Drittanbieter sperren”. After all, moving house can be the difference between great signal at home and one useless bar of patchy reception. o2 is especially popular in big cities and less popular in rural areas, as their signal in cities is quite strong while when on the road a lot you might have trouble finding a signal. Great deals combined with the flexibility of choosing your favorite mobile phone and network paired with their outstanding customer service make for a great combination. This is something you are really going to appreciate if you’ve ever had a mobile provider that only provided bad signal that made it impossible to have long calls. The second best is Vodafone. Maybe you haven’t heard of Tarifhaus yet, as this is a very new phone provider in Germany, but it is definitely worth checking out their offers. Signing up with the best German mobile phone provider will save you a lot of money and trouble, as problems are bound to arise if you pick the wrong provider. If you need more than 10GB of data on the fastest download speed and with the best network coverage, then you’re likely to spend upwards of €35 a month. ✅ Great mobile network quality Let’s not beat around the bush, while o2 is great in cities, it can be really annoying if you live in a small German village and constantly have to fight for signal. Right now they also are ahead of competition when it comes to LTE and mobile internet. Only pay for what you need – this is why Deutsche Telekom offers a lot of choices. Which is the right plan and provider will depend on your circumstances and individual needs. You could use a PO box, the address of your empoyer, or a friend who can act as a care-of address for the SIM’s delivery, for example. Switzerland as well for normal conditions get your money back this is always. 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