O2 raises prices for mobile phone tariffs significantly

Telefonica is one of the three major mobile communications providers in Germany. Quite significant price increases have now been announced for spring 2023.

Prices are rising everywhere and in almost all areas. The mobile communications division is now also affected by this, namely Telefónica Germany. This means that customers with major brands such as O2 or Blau will have to pay up to 10 percent more for their contracts in the future. But who exactly is affected and will this possibly affect other providers?

Price increase for O2 and Co. announced

So now it has caught the mobile phone industry. Markus Hass, head of Telefónica Germany, announced a significant price increase for the spring of 2023 for the brands belonging to the company. Haas gave the Handelsblatt the generally rising costs due to inflation as the reason. “In contrast to the past, more performance at the same price is no longer possible,” says Haas. In addition, there would also be the necessary investments in the German grid expansion.

The following brands belong to Telefónica Germany:

  • O2
  • ePlus
  • Blue
  • Fonic
  • Ortel Mobile
  • Hey Yildiz
  • TurkeySim (no more new contracts possible)
  • net club
  • Lebara

It is not yet known whether the same price increases will apply to all these brands. First and foremost, new customers at O2 and Co. are affected. So if you want to switch to the Telefónica network from spring 2023, you have to expect a price increase of between two and six euros per month – depending on the tariff. According to Haas, the new prices would first apply to the prepaid tariffs. It is also not yet known whether and to what extent the price increases will also affect existing customers. Telefónica will probably be careful in this regard, because customers would then be entitled to a special right of termination.

However, the higher prices also include an actual upgrade for many tariffs. At least at O2, the 5G option should be integrated into all tariff options. Especially in the somewhat cheaper segments, access was often only possible to the slower LTE network. However, the prerequisite for this is that the mobile device also has the appropriate requirements and 5G is also available in the respective region.

Are other providers following suit?

For many mobile phone users, the question now naturally arises as to whether the prices of the competition, Telekom and Vodafone, are also rising. Neither company has commented on this so far. Markus Haas’ reasoning for the price increase is quite understandable. In addition to the increased – and still increasing – costs, one should also consider that in the past many functions were included in the mobile phone tariffs without any special surcharges or with a stable basic price.

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Even if there is no official statement from Telekom and Vodafone so far, industry specialists assume that the two companies could soon follow suit. At least Telekom told the Handelsblatt that it was keeping all options open in this regard. TECHBOOK will keep you up to date on this.

source

  • Handelsblatt (“Telefónica Deutschland increases prices by up to ten percent”, accessed on January 9, 2023)

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