Best Pre-Paid Data Plan For a Visit To Germany?

code prole writes "With two upcoming trips to Germany, and no readily available Internet (Wi-Fi or otherwise) in the location where we'll be staying, I'm looking for a no-contract USB stick and pre-paid data plan. Vodafone has a huge selection of USB sticks but has proven to be unresponsive to questions about data plans. And the US-based T-Mobile Help Center was clueless about getting the device in Europe and using it there. Hopefully the Slashdot community has some suggestions. Any duds to avoid?"

Comments

I recommend blau.de

[pleumann]

They have good pricing for telephony and internet access, and their website is easy to use.

OMG - first post? :)

Re:I recommend blau.de

[weeeeed]

Yeah, blau.de is pretty good. But you will need internet access and some basic german skills to activate the card on their website.

100mb/30 days: EUR 3.90, activate by calling 1155 and pressing 8,1,4,1

1Gb/30 days: EUR9.90, 1155 and press 8,1,2,1

Unlimited/30 days: EUR19.90, dial 1155, press 8,1,3,1

All plans auto-extend the next month, to disable dial 1155 and press 8,2,1

APN: internet.eplus.de
Username: blau
Password: blau

Re:I recommend blau.de

[lennier1]

Great summary but please don't forget to mention that the "unlimited" plan contains 5GB per month at 3G speed.
After that it's limited to GPRS. Same situation with the 1GB data plan. A common measure on many networks.

Voice call minutes are deducted separately from the prepaid credits but blau actually has fairly good rates.

Re:Internet cafe's

[uigin]

Actually very few places in Germany have free Wifi. The going rate is €8 per hour! (If you are asking about it, they call it Wlan)

I agree about waiting until you arrive though. I think you'll have a lot of problems buying before you travel unless you sign up for a special tourist phone network that costs an outrageous amount.

Dave.

Re:Avoid non-carrier providers!

[stefanb]

I would only consider Vodafone and T-Mobile as your options, these two have established cell networks, all the others borrow on these networks and as such tend to be at the bottom of the traffic prioritization.

Nonsense. There's four network operators in Germany: T-Mobile, Vodafone, E-Plus, and O2 Germany. While T-Mobile and Vodafone have a larger buildout (higher density, more towers in rural areas), E-Plus and O2 are not that far behind. I find that O2's network works really well in cities, with no noticable degradation compared to T-Mobile.

All four operators have their own "value" brands, and there's a couple of MVNOs, and as far as I can tell, no priorisation is in effect for any user. If you do have coverage, chances are that you will have excellent throughput. Nothing like certain US operators...

A list of prepaid providers

[poszi]

Available here. Some have decent data plans (30-month unlimited GPRS, first 5GB on HSDPA is available in O2). You will need an unlocked GSM phone and buy a SIM card in Germany.

Re:Avoid non-carrier providers!

[okock]

+1: If you're within cities, it generally doesn't matter, which network you use. I've learnt that Vodafone and T-Mobile are the more expensive solutions and generally like to sell you sim-locked devices.

I'm quite happy with a cheapo-solution, using a (non-sim-lock) stick and prepaid plan from "Aldi", one of the nation wide supermarket chains. Stick: ~50€, monthly flatrate: ~15€ (careful: if you've got enough money prepaid and not cancelled the monthly flatrate, it's automatically continued the next month) or ~2 or 3 € per day. They say to limit the speed from 5GB (monthly) or 1GB (daily) on. This is a resold "E-Plus" network access.

Windows "wizard" software is provided on the stick. Access also works well with Ubuntu "Karmic Koala" (without the windows software, of course).

Try Aldi

[seaton carew]

Cheap, no contract, available over the counter almost everywhere as a SIM only or including dongle:
http://www.medionmobile.de/index3.htm

Enjoy the trip!