Lidl

[inquisitor]

Originally Posted by arkada

Hello,
The only advantage of Lidl I see is the VoIP support.
But this issue on Ja! And Penny may be solved by using VPN.

Yes. Another advantage of Lidl are the cheap international rates to European countries and North America.

Originally Posted by Motel75

Lidl and Fonic have had a series of problems lately that make them hard to recommend any more.

What problems do you mean? The only recent issue of Lidl/Fonic I am aware of is linked to the billing of the new "Smart Tarif" which isn't relevant to visitors as it requires a German bank account.

[Motel75]

Originally Posted by inquisitor

What problems do you mean? The only recent issue of Lidl/Fonic I am aware of is linked to the billing of the new "Smart Tarif" which isn't relevant to visitors as it requires a German bank account.

Granted, most of the problems wouldn't affect short-term visitors, but late last year Fonic introduced a new billing system that plunged the whole network into chaos. People reported ordering internet packages and having the order go through days later, while they continued to be billed at 24 c/Mb. Number ports took months, and porting out took weeks. Getting through to the customer hotline could take a long time.

While Lidl still has very good 3 GB/month and 24 h Internet tariffs, most of Fonic's other prices (9 c/min within Germany, to European landlines and N. America; 24 c/Mb data) have been matched by other providers (such as Edeka, which uses the superior Vodafone network, or Congstar on the likewise better Telekom network). Hence I don't know if it's worth the potential trouble, even for short- or long-term use.

[papeti01]

Yes, which provides better coverage, and faster data speed?
Simyo also allows voip calls or block them?
What kind of problems Fonic / Lidl have?

Thanks a lot!
p.

Originally Posted by inquisitor

You mean which operator provides better coverage or faster data speeds than O2 (on which Lidl is based)?

[inquisitor]

@Motel75
I am aware of those past problems which where linked to the introduction of a new billing system. But they seem to be solved for a couple of weeks now and as you said mostly affected postpaid subscribers of the "Smart tariff".
Doubtlessly T-Mobile and Vodafone provide better coverage and higher bandwidth, but they charge for that accordingly. While Lidl gives you 5GB for € 15, Ja mobil and Penny mobil (the cheapest brands on T-Mobile) block VoIP and throttle customers already after 3GB. With congstar and all the discounters on the Vodafone network 3GB will cost you even € 20. Notably for the large data packs (>500MB) Vodafone discounters won't throttle your speed after exceeding the monthly allowance but they will terminate Internet access and you will have to order a new pack.
Edeka indeed offers the same international rates like Lidl but the only data option is a 500MB pack for € 10/month.
Lastly SIM cards from most providers on T-Mobile and Vodafone are more expensive, as they are all sold for € 10 but include less credit than Lidl (€ 5 vs. € 10) and do not have a customer referral program that gives you an additional bonus of € 5 for Lidl.
Depending on individual travel route and amount of data usage T-Mobile and Vodafone may be the better choice but for those who are happy with a downlink of 2-3 MBit/s and stay close to the agglomerations, Lidl is still very interesting as is cheaper and provides unrestricted Internet access.

@papeti01
Simyo is based on eplus, which is by far the worst network in Germany. If you want better coverage and higher bandwidth have a look at Ja mobil, Penny mobil which are identical and both offer 3GB for € 20/month or Bildmobil which has the following data options:
7 days for € 6.99 (terminated early if exceeding 1GB)
30 days for € 19.99 (terminated early if exceeding 3GB)
90 days for € 39.99 (terminated early if exceeding 5GB)

[papeti01]

I think I will stay at Lidl. It's cheap, and doesn't block Voip.
The only way to refill my credit is to go to a Lidl, and buy a card... isn't it?

thx,
p.

Originally Posted by inquisitor

@Motel75
I am aware of those past problems which where linked to the introduction of a new billing system. But they seem to be solved for a couple of weeks now and as you said mostly affected postpaid subscribers of the "Smart tariff".
Doubtlessly T-Mobile and Vodafone provide better coverage and higher bandwidth, but they charge for that accordingly. While Lidl gives you 5GB for € 15, Ja mobil and Penny mobil (the cheapest brands on T-Mobile) block VoIP and throttle customers already after 3GB. With congstar and all the discounters on the Vodafone network 3GB will cost you even € 20. Notably for the large data packs (>500MB) Vodafone discounters won't throttle your speed after exceeding the monthly allowance but they will terminate Internet access and you will have to order a new pack.
Edeka indeed offers the same international rates like Lidl but the only data option is a 500MB pack for € 10/month.
Lastly SIM cards from most providers on T-Mobile and Vodafone are more expensive, as they are all sold for € 10 but include less credit than Lidl (€ 5 vs. € 10) and do not have a customer referral program that gives you an additional bonus of € 5 for Lidl.
Depending on individual travel route and amount of data usage T-Mobile and Vodafone may be the better choice but for those who are happy with a downlink of 2-3 MBit/s and stay close to the agglomerations, Lidl is still very interesting as is cheaper and provides unrestricted Internet access.

@papeti01
Simyo is based on eplus, which is by far the worst network in Germany. If you want better coverage and higher bandwidth have a look at Ja mobil, Penny mobil which are identical and both offer 3GB for € 20/month or Bildmobil which has the following data options:
7 days for € 6.99 (terminated early if exceeding 1GB)
30 days for € 19.99 (terminated early if exceeding 3GB)
90 days for € 39.99 (terminated early if exceeding 5GB)

[inquisitor]

Originally Posted by papeti01

I think I will stay at Lidl. It's cheap, and doesn't block Voip.
The only way to refill my credit is to go to a Lidl, and buy a card... isn't it?

You can also use Fonic top up vouchers to recharge Lidl SIMs. These are available at many retail stores, kiosks, gasstations and also online at http://www.aufladen.de/de/shop/prepaid/fonic-de
The only downside of Fonic vouchers is that the smallest face value available is € 20.
Another option is to top up by bank transfer as described here.

[Motel75]

Originally Posted by inquisitor

@Motel75
Edeka indeed offers the same international rates like Lidl but the only data option is a 500MB pack for € 10/month.

Yes, but according to this report (http://www.telefon-treff.de/showthre...08#post4507708), the real limit per month before the speed is throttled is actually 2 GB. If this is true, then Edeka provides the same value as Lidl; however, it would be unwise to count on this always being so.

[Exadra]

Hello all.
Im goind to be in Bremen for 1 month and I need internet access. I read this post and Lidl option seems the best for me. Can you help me with the steps?

1 - buy Lidl mobile classic tarif card ina lidl store
2 - buy rechard card for 15€ ??
3 - activate the card in the internet
4 - send a message with the content "?????" to number ???


my question on point 2 is that the card comes with 10€ for what I read and as the monthly cost of the internet is 15€ do I need to rechard the card with more 15€ and then to activate the internet?

Thanks

[webdweeb]

Inquisitor, I think the Lidl Classic PAYG SIM might be the best for me for my upcoming vacation to Germany, but I can't read your instruction web pages on Wetpaint because they are currently blocked. Do you have a new tutorial page or an alternate URL for these pages? I have a friend in Garmisch that is willing to purchase SIM cards for me (voice and data for iPhone 4s) and send them to the US for our trip in early September, so any assistance or tips (via your web page or here on the forum) would be most appreciated.

[Marschel]

New plan from tomorrow. The plan is called "Lidl Mobile Smart S" and will distach the former Smart XL plan. For 7.99€ you get 300 national minutes OR text, unlimited calls AND text to other Lidl Mobile customers and 300 MB of data. If you exceed your volume you'll be limited to 64 kbit/s. You're able to purchase more "high speed" volume. 200 MB for 3.99€.