iPhone plans for Germany

Following the official announcement in September, T-Mobile and Apple today announced three rate plans for users of the iPhone in Germany, starting at €49 per month. Called “iPhone Complete” plans, all three include unlimited data, Visual Voicemail and access to T-Mobile’s more than 8,000 Wi-Fi HotSpots in Germany. Apple's popular device is scheduled to go on sale on November 9 and will be sold in Germany through Telekom Shops of Deutsche Telekom and the T-Mobile website and will require a new 2-year T-Mobile rate plan; it will be available in an 8GB model for €399 including V.A.T. Apple has already announced that it has sold more than 1.4 million iPhones since its June 30th launch and that over 250,000 devices were sold to unlockers who used third-party hacks to enable the phone on other GSM networks.

The entry level €49 "Complete M" plan offers 100 minutes and 40 SMS messages, while the "Complete L" for €69 offers 200 minutes and 150 SMS messages. The highest plan "Complete XL" plan offers 1000 minutes and 300 SMS messages for €89. The company said that additional minutes will be €0.39/minute for the "M" and "L" plans and €0.29/minute for the "XL" plan, while text messages over the allotted number will be an additional €0.29 per message. The company is also charging a one-time set-up free of €25, but it is unclear whether existing T-mobile customers will be charged this fee.

"This means that users can enjoy the fantastic experience of the mobile Internet on the iPhone with no worries," said Philipp Humm, managing director, T-Mobile Germany. The incredible combination of T-Mobile's powerful EDGE network combined with the country's largest offering of Wi-Fi HotSpots and the exclusive 'iPhone Complete' rate plans give T-Mobile customers everything they need to experience the iPhone to the fullest. The transparently structured Complete rates thus confirm our brand motto 'simply closer.'"

By the end of 2007, T-Mobile also said it will be the only network operator in Germany to offer EDGE throughout almost its entire GSM network. EDGE, the network carrier claims, accelerates the mobile data transfer rate to over 220 Kilobits per second, which makes it almost four times as fast as ISDN in fixed-line networks.

"We're thrilled to be partnering with T-Mobile and can't wait to start selling the iPhone in Germany in just a few short weeks," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Starting at just €49 per month, we think these three rate plans give customers the flexibility to experience all of iPhone's revolutionary features at affordable and competitive prices."

By Electronista Staff