Cheapest rates in germany for...

inquisitor · 10-03-2010, 13:17

Top up vouchers for Fonic are not as easy to get as for other German providers (see Germany - Fonic - Prepaid Wireless Internet Access for an overview of retailers). Against that background I would regard recharging by credit card as much more comfortable.
If you compare Fonic's 60/60-billing to solomo's 60/1 billing, Fonic is significantly more expensive. An average mobile call in Western Europe takes 1.5-1.9 minutes. So based on this fact Fonic is 5-33% more expensive than solomo. I think this discrepancy should justify solomo's price premium of € 5 for the SIM card.
Regarding network congestion, the eplus network, which solomo uses, is really problematic, but usually that's only reflected in low data rates, while SMS and phone calls are not an issue.

Evan · 11-03-2010, 11:43

Recharging by credit card is certainly more comfortable, as long as you've got easy and/or cheap internet access. And most people who visit another country for a short stay, don't have that.

Regarding Fonic, their top up vouchers aren't that ubiquitous as before (when you could also top up with O2 vouchers) but I wouldn't say that "they are not as easy to get". For most locations across Germany, it's rather rare not to find a gas station or a kiosk or a convenience store that doesn't offer Fonic top-up vouchers (judging from their online location finder anyway).

Also, the average duration of outgoing mobile calls could be 1.5-1.9 minutes, however the majority of the mobile calls is less than one minute. And the duration of the majority of the phone calls is the most important issue, for the telcos at least. That's why, Solomo and many other operators (not in Germany of course) that charge in seconds, always have a 60 or 30, 45-second minimum call charge.

herkdrvr · **Valid Period -** 20-03-2010, 08:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by inquisitor

Top up vouchers for Fonic are not as easy to get as for other German providers (see Germany - Fonic - Prepaid Wireless Internet Access for an overview of retailers). Against that background I would regard recharging by credit card as much more comfortable.
If you compare Fonic's 60/60-billing to solomo's 60/1 billing, Fonic is significantly more expensive. An average mobile call in Western Europe takes 1.5-1.9 minutes. So based on this fact Fonic is 5-33% more expensive than solomo. I think this discrepancy should justify solomo's price premium of € 5 for the SIM card.
Regarding network congestion, the eplus network, which solomo uses, is really problematic, but usually that's only reflected in low data rates, while SMS and phone calls are not an issue.

Okay, I got the FONIC card as it appeared to meet my needs in Germany. Can you or anyone help me to understand when the time on the card expires?

The FONIC activation is changed slightly from your web posting (Germany - Fonic - Prepaid Wireless Internet Access). Didn't have to give my passport or any other identification. Also I'm still trying to figure out how to top up online! At any rate, thanks for the info!

	(#1)
inquisitor (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Professionist Posts: 1,399 Join Date: 15 Nov 2006 Country:	10-03-2010, 13:17 Top up vouchers for Fonic are not as easy to get as for other German providers (see Germany - Fonic - Prepaid Wireless Internet Access for an overview of retailers). Against that background I would regard recharging by credit card as much more comfortable. If you compare Fonic's 60/60-billing to solomo's 60/1 billing, Fonic is significantly more expensive. An average mobile call in Western Europe takes 1.5-1.9 minutes. So based on this fact Fonic is 5-33% more expensive than solomo. I think this discrepancy should justify solomo's price premium of € 5 for the SIM card. Regarding network congestion, the eplus network, which solomo uses, is really problematic, but usually that's only reflected in low data rates, while SMS and phone calls are not an issue. terminals: Samsung: Galaxy S5 DuoS (G900FD); BLU: Win HD LTE; Nokia: 1200; Asus: Fonepad 7 ME372CG; Huawei data: E3372, Vodafone R201, K3765, E1762; postpaid: O2 on Business XL; prepaid: DE: Aldi Talk, Lidl; UK: 3; BG: MTel, vivacom; RU: MTS; RS: MTS; UAE: du Tourist SIM; INT'L: toggle mobile VoIP: sipgate.de (German DID); sipgate.co.uk (British DID); ukddi.com (British DID); sipcall.ch (Swiss DID); megafon.bg (Bulgarian DID); InterVoip.com

	(#2)
Evan (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Fan Posts: 102 Join Date: 17 Aug 2009 Country:	11-03-2010, 11:43 Recharging by credit card is certainly more comfortable, as long as you've got easy and/or cheap internet access. And most people who visit another country for a short stay, don't have that. Regarding Fonic, their top up vouchers aren't that ubiquitous as before (when you could also top up with O2 vouchers) but I wouldn't say that "they are not as easy to get". For most locations across Germany, it's rather rare not to find a gas station or a kiosk or a convenience store that doesn't offer Fonic top-up vouchers (judging from their online location finder anyway). Also, the average duration of outgoing mobile calls could be 1.5-1.9 minutes, however the majority of the mobile calls is less than one minute. And the duration of the majority of the phone calls is the most important issue, for the telcos at least. That's why, Solomo and many other operators (not in Germany of course) that charge in seconds, always have a 60 or 30, 45-second minimum call charge.