1. Short notice periods with tacit extension
It wasn’t that long ago when mobile phone contracts with a term of 24 months were the norm, and without notice of termination, they continued for twelve months at the same conditions. That has changed. Since then March 1, 2022 It is easier for consumers to terminate a contract: With a tacit extension of the contract The contract is extended for an indefinite period and can thereafter monthly with one Terminated with 30 days notice become.
This has a big advantage for you as a customer: you can react flexibly to offers after the minimum contract period has expired. For example, if your current contract ends on August 15th after 24 months, you can wait and then conclude a new contract with attractive conditions during Black Friday week at the beginning of November. Cancel the old contract now and set the start date for the new contract at the end of its term – if possible. This way you avoid double payments and have a seamless transition.
2. Short contract duration makes you flexible
The most obvious advantage of a mobile phone contract with short term is the flexibility. At a time when technical innovations are advancing at a rapid pace, customers do not want to commit to a mobile phone provider in the long term. New devices and technologies often require adjustments to data plans.
With a shorter contract – i.e. with a minimum contract term of one month or twelve months – you can react quickly and switch to a tariff that is better suited to your current usage habits. The monthly price is often the same, and you only pay a one-off connection price of 20 to 40 euros for the tariffs that can be canceled monthly.
3. Prepaid for cheap annual contracts
In addition to the tariffs with monthly billing, there are also Annual contracts with Payment in advancefor example directly from Telekom or from Edeka-Smart in the Telekom network. You pay a fixed amount and receive a guaranteed monthly amount of data volume, call minutes and SMS.
The highlight: There are no unpleasant surprises due to hidden costs, no commitment beyond the year and no automatic contract extension. Depending on the provider, the total costs over twelve months are often significantly lower than with comparable monthly contracts. In addition, there are no monthly bills.
4. A mobile phone contract with a cell phone is (usually) not worth it
Mobile phone providers lure potential buyers with contract tariffs and subsidized smartphones. But the offer is not always as cheap as it seems at first glance. If you add up the additional costs for the smartphone – down payment, shipping and monthly installment – over the contract term, you often pay more if you pay in installments than the device alone would cost. Use a service like Idealo to find the best deals.
5. Choose the appropriate data volume
Unlimited data volume is only included in expensive flat rates. Tariffs are common monthly data volume. Before signing a contract, you should think carefully and realistically assess your usage behavior. If you have calculated too narrowly, the data volume will be used up too quickly and the speed will be throttled. You may be able to book additional data volume for a fee. On the other hand, you are wasting money if you set the volume too high and only use a fraction of it.
6. Why check the network coverage at the location before signing a contract?
There are currently four mobile phone networks in Germany, operated by Deutsche Telekom (D1), Vodafone (D2), Telefónica (O2) and 1&1 Drillisch. But not every network offers the same quality across the board. Network coverage varies greatly depending on the respective provider and location. It’s correspondingly annoying to have a mobile phone contract that only gives you a fraction of the possible connection speed where you live/work.
In order to avoid exactly this problem, it is advisable to take a look at the contract before signing the contract Network coverage map of the respective mobile phone provider. These maps provide detailed information about how well a provider is positioned in certain regions of Germany. The mobile network is usually mentioned in tariffs from discounters, so you should also find suitable information here.
7. Data speeds – Not everyone needs high speed
Many mobile phone providers advertise ever higher rates Data speeds: The bandwidth currently ranges from 25 to 50 and 300 to 500 Mbit/s. In everyday life, however, it becomes apparent that many applications do not require maximum speeds at all. Moderate speeds are often sufficient for daily surfing the Internet, receiving emails or sharing photos on social networks. When streaming, Netflix and Amazon each recommend 15 Mbit/s, Disney 25 Mbit/s. So if you are content with a speed of, for example, 50 Mbit/s, you can save a few euros per month on the tariff.
8. How do you make calls without a mobile network?
Who doesn’t know this at home or in the office with their cell phone? Chopped snippets of conversation and unavailability. Making calls via a WLAN connection (“WiFi calling”) can solve the problem with dead spots. Whether she WiFi-Calling can use depends on the mobile phone provider and smartphone. In this case, check whether WiFi calling is activated in the iPhone or Android settings.
9. EU roaming and Switzerland
When looking at your mobile phone tariff, pay attention to the countries and zones in which you can surf and make calls under domestic conditions. Some tariffs include Switzerland. Otherwise, you will pay dearly for incoming and outgoing calls as well as for the data volume used.
10. How do you find the best cell phone tariffs?
You have now read nine tips to help you decide on a mobile phone tariff. Instead of doing your own search and checking out all the well-known providers, you should use comparison portals like to use. Your filters will give you a good overview.
Source: www.connect.de
