In an international comparison, our mobile phone tariffs are expensive. Studies have shown that users in France and Poland have long been able to surf the web or make calls on their mobile for significantly less money. Why do Germans have to spend so much money on mobile communications?
Hass: I have to disagree. Mobile communications are affordable for everyone in this country, and the monthly costs are among the lowest in Europe. Tariffs with ample data volume cost less than 1 euro per day. The basket of goods from the Federal Statistical Office shows that mobile communications are becoming cheaper for consumers year after year – while almost everything around us is becoming significantly more expensive.
Mobile telephony is therefore inflation-braking. And the international comparisons seem popular but give a distorted picture. They do not take sufficient account of the differences in purchasing power, the included services and much more. In hardly any other country in Europe do customers effectively spend so little money on mobile communications as in Germany.
There is also a curiosity about which the “Spiegel” recently reported. Contracts with Vodafone, Telekom, but also O2 are often more expensive than with smaller competitors who use the networks of the big operators. Can you explain why that is? From the customer’s point of view, it would actually be smarter to conclude a contract with the discounter instead of with O2.
Hass: Here, too, people like to compare apples with oranges. The major differences in the market offerings can be seen in the respective 4G or 5G technology, the service package, the speed, the included data volume in Germany and abroad, the payment method, but also whether customers buy a high-quality end device at attractive conditions want.
Competent advice in the shop is also more important than ever for customers. The satisfaction and loyalty values for our core brand O2 have reached absolute highs in the past few quarters.