Internet for domestic use

agree with Beppi on the fine print...

verivox is a good site and like with all good sites it is sponsored, some obvious everyday pitfalls that you never read about on these sites :




On Fixed line and Media contracts

Since much more than 5 years - cable companies are competing aggresively with local telecommunication providers as an alternative connection to DSL. Cable is physically of higher quality and can therefore have much better connection speeds.

Check highlevel overview of cable companies : http://www.dsl-flatrate-abc.de/kabel/ne … ovider.php
(Kabel Deutschland is wholly owned by Vodafone and will cease to exist as seperate brand). Kabel Deutschland orgininated orginally from Deutsche Post.

München is Telefonica world (acquired) ePlus, and Alice (Cable).

Unless you live in the city, which has good coverage and speed (including low delay), the picture quickly muddies,  just outside. So that the overall impression I had in Bayern, in terms of connectivity (and still hear from friends) are not overly impressive, in comparison to the 150Mb/s or 200Mb/s offers we get in Hessen,  but also Hessen still have a number of blank spots.

Hence a number of friends we know in Bayern depend on LTE (Mobile) to be connected at all.

On Mobile contracts

For the incumbent operator (and low cost brands like fonic and base ) see coverage here - https://www.o2online.de/hilfe/o2-netz/#netzabdeckung

1) Cheap Prepaid tariffs with fixed charge dates equals exhorbitant high collection fees. This tariff bets on the fact that some people save every possible penny, but loses the overview when it comes to timely monthly payments. So if that rate says 12€ per month, be prepared to pay around 36€ if you slip your payment date

2) Especially when you are buying a device with your connection, a credibility check (Schufa check ) is performed. Do your homework before on the internet and not at the point of sale (POS). Since all providers checks against schufa, it doesn't matter if you approach different providers (SimQuadrat, o2, ...)
Each time a schufa check is performed it reduces your credibility rating by a small amount. That credibility rating also affects how much discounts and preferred rates can be offered to you.

3) It is always cheaper to separate the mobile device from the connection contract. Whereever you see a cheaper combined contract you have to watch the small print (an old trick is to oblige you to spend a minimum of say 20€ per month, or high fees if you want to bail out early on a two year contract)

4) Avoid buying a contract on the street or at the corner of the trainstation.

5) Handling of "flatrates" . True flats are either expensive or there are mechanisms to curb overusage (the offers with Flat and a small asterisk)( with various types of ceilings (either volume, time, conditions etc. - ie throttling, auto bundle upgrade, ...). After you found your favourite, check how overusage will be handled and whether it suits your needs.

6) Know which network has the highest coverage in the area that you will commute. Each branded provider has a yellow label brand (no-name brand) nowadays. (ie like for British Airways, which also owns "Go Sky", Soutwest spun off "JetBlue", Telefonica owns Fonic, etc. Usually the low cost brand saves on customer service and limited flexibility on service offerings.

7) Decide beforehand if you want the luxury to roam outside Europe with the contract. Usually it is cheaper to buy a temporary prepaid card that you throwaway after you return from holiday.

8) Ask a fellow student/colleague what tariffs they are using - due to vertragsverlängerung (Contracts extension conditions) there is bound to be at least 1 person in a group of 20 that are "shopping around" on prices.