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International Calls:   Tips for Mobiles:

International Calls:

from a public payphone

The charge for a call to the U.K. is normally: 60 ct/min but with an 0180-5****** prefix: = 20 ct/min. Full instructions on the Foxy Phone page. For credit cards there is usually a (1 €?) charge per 0180-5 connection.

Example:
To call a UK number dial: 0180-5151051 (pause) 0044 123 456789

 

from a private phone

This is the cheapest way to phone abroad. Get the current prices and prefixes from teltarif.de - choose your destination from the Gespächsziel menu in the Tarifcheck box. Typically: to the UK - 2 ct (1.4p) per minute, to UK-mobiles 15 ct.

 

from a German Mobile PAYG SIM

Provider Vodafone CallYa T-Mobile Xtra E-Plus Free & Easy O2
LOOP
 Tchibo simyo debitel-light Blau ALDItalk easyMobile SIMply
KlarMobil
Price 19.95 19.95 20.00 19.99 9.95 19.90 19.95 19.95 19.99 16.00 15.0019.95
Credit included 10.00
15.00
 5.00
 1.00 10.00 15.00 10.00
Where to buy Vodafone shops or internet T-Mobile shops or internet E-Plus shops or internet O2 shops or internet Tchibo coffee shops or internet InternetPlus supermarkets, Debitel shops or internet
 Internet ALDI
supermarkets		 Internet
Text to UK
 0.29
 0.19 - 0.20
 0.29 - 0.30
Calls to UK 1.84 - 1.99/minute 0.99/minute
Network Vodafone
 T-Mobile E-Plus
 O2 with T-Mobile E-PlusT-Mobile
April 2006
All prices in Euros, inc. VAT.

Tariffs on the E-Plus network do not permit deactivation of the mailbox.

All require registration with passport details and a German address.

You can buy German SIMs in the UK from:
http://www.0044.co.uk/
http://www.oneroam.co.uk/
http://www.orate.co.uk/



To save international call costs with a German SIM, make the call via 0180-556 557-0 from http://www.prominute.de: you pay only the 0180-5 charge of 36-87ct. (depending on your network/time of day). This charge is simply deducted from your German prepaid card's credit. With a "Web Directory" for up to 9 short-cut numbers.

Only possible to landline numbers, unless specifically listed in the destination list.
Charging begins if/when the call is answered.



General 0800 info

0800 calls are free for the caller from landline phones*, pay-phones† and mobiles (although 0800 calls are officially not possible on the E-plus "Free & Easy" pre-paid tariff, they do apparently work).

* Most hotels will levy a surcharge.
† Many pay-phones, particularly the new ones, don't allow 0800 calls.


[Also in Austria, freecall numbers (0800 etc) are free from mobiles.]

Tips for Mobiles

 

Roaming with a UK PAYG SIM

See separate page

International SIM


If you are travelling to different countries an international SIM might be useful: GlobalSim & Riiing (same tariffs, both part of UnitedMobile):

SIM price
(inc. credit)
 		Making calls Receiving callsSend a Text message
(SMS)
- receiving is free
 		Top-upsValidity of SIM and credit
¤30 (¤5)
¤40 (¤15)
¤50 (¤30)
 from ¤0.39 from ¤0.00
¤0.49
 ¤15
¤25
9 months after last use
Prices in EURO
(x ca. 0.7 for £)

These international SIMs use the "Call-Back" method: you dial your number, you are cut off and you hang up. You are called back, you answer and the number you dialled rings. Charging begins (per minute, with a connection charge of ¤0.25 ) when the call is answered.

 

SMS to e-Mail

It's possible to send an e-mail to and from a German SIM card on any of the networks. Details in German here (translations here). To receive eMails as text messages (first 160 characters only) on your mobile, info in German can be found here (translations here). Sending AND receiving is similar to the price of a text message.

 

WAP, MMS

Prepaid SIMs with WAP and MMS-capability are O2 LOOP, Vodafone CallYa and Deutsche Telekom T-D1 with XtraData.

O2 LOOP GPRS info here (translations here). Prices here. You can find the nearest "O2 Shop" or "O2 Partner Shop" here. Price about 30 ¤ with 15 ¤ credit, valid for one year.

Vodafone CallYa info & prices here (translations here). Price about 40 ¤ with 15 ¤ credit, valid for one year. Shop search here (translations here).

Deutsche Telekom T-D1 Xtra GPRS info & prices here*. T-D1 shop search here. Price about 40 ¤ with 15 ¤ credit, valid for one year.
* Update (02.07.03): registration is no longer necessary. The page is still to be updated.

An overview of GPRS and WAP can be seen here (translations here).

 

Internet with GPRS

Only LOOP offers GPRS data access to the Internet.

O2 LOOP GPRS info here (translations here). Prices here. You can find the nearest "O2 Shop" or "O2 Partner Shop" here. Price about 30 ¤ with 15 ¤ credit, valid for one year.

 

Internet with GSM-only

If your phone or the phone card in your lap-top is GSM-only then you cannot use the faster/cheaper GPRS service. For GSM-only, all 4 networks provide access to the internet via their own access number at about 15 cents/minute. This can be used at any time, except with T-D1 you have to register first to receive the log-in name and password (by post).

Details in German here (translations here).

I don't guarantee any of the information here. Spend any money you've saved on a Weizenbier :-)

Updated: Saturday, May 10, 2003

Translations by http://babelfish.altavista.com/

Current exchange rate: European Central Bank

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