On the one hand, it makes life easier for mobile Internet users. On the other hand, it is potential cost trap for smartphone users who don’t about this and who don’t make the nessecary arrangements in time. Subscribers of a cell phone plan of German operator O2 Germany do not need to configure the mobile Internet access by themselves. They can access the web via GPRS or UMTS over the O2 Germany network with any access point name (APN) or even without any APN.

Soccer fans traveling to South Africa for watching the games of the 2010 FIFA World Cup should leave the SIM cards of their regular mobile phone provider at home - because of high roaming charges for outgoing and incoming calls as well as for mobile data services. At teltarif.de we have found out: Subscribers of a cell phone plan of one of the German operators Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, E-Plus or Germany pay as much as € 2.55 per minute when calling their family back at home from South Africa. For incoming calls in South Africa German operators charge up to € 2.00 per minute. A less expensive way to keep in touch with family and friends at home while visiting South Africa during the 2010 FIFA World Cup from June, 11th to July, 11th is to buy a prepaid SIM card of a South African provider.

Mobile data roaming fees are still prohibitive. While flat rate tariffs of German providers for accessing the internet over a mobile network can be booked for monthly charges as low as EUR 10.00, in other countries mobile internet users pay EUR 1.95 per megabyte or much more with their German mobile data plan. Thanks to the European Commission, there will be less risk of enormous expenses soon. As of July 1st, European mobile phone providers have to set up a cost limit of EUR 59.50 per month for mobile data roaming within the European Union. Mobile internet users can already benefit from this cost limit for mobile data services when being in another country of the European Union. However, they have to request their mobile phone provider to activate this cost limit feature.

Because of high roaming charges, prepaid SIM cards of domestic providers are a good choice when making mobile phone calls in another country. Usually, these prepaid price plans come without any minimum term or any monthly fee and users are only charged when actually making a phone call. Thus, tourists, travelers, au-pairs or exchange students can even take the prepaid SIM card back home and use it again when visiting the country next time. When being in Germany, there is a broad range of prepaid price plans offering low rates for mobile phone calls within Germany and for international mobile phone calls. However, some of them require a minimum turnover by the customer.

It might take years until Berlin will get its free WiFi network throughout the city such as other cities like Austin or San Francisco. However, there are still a lot of locations with free WiFi (or WLAN) access to the web such as bars, cafes, hostels, hotels or even certain points of interest. With more and more people having a netbook or a smartphone with WiFi support and more and more people taking their mobiles on their trips to other countries, WiFi hotspots become hot again. For example, by using a free WiFi hotspot in Berlin mobile phone or netbook users from other countries save high data roaming expenses – all it might take to access the internet for free is to get a password at the counter and order one or two coffees during the online session. The Phone Guide Germany tells you at which locations in Berlin you will find free WiFi connections to the web.

There are lots of cheap cell phone plans without monthly fees and without long minimum term by discount providers in the German market. Not all of these price plans are real prepaid offers, though. These quasi-prepaid offers are called prepaid price plans by the providers and for the user, they “feel” like prepaid price plans. But there are essential differences between these two types of mobile phone tariffs. In this article, the Phone Guide Germany points out the differences, explains what these differences mean to the customer and shows which type of cell phone plan suits travelers, exchange students, business men or people moving to Germany better.

Around the world, swine flu (H1N1) related deaths are on the rise. In Germany eleven deaths from swine flu (H1N1) haven been reported so far. Most of these fatal cases had been caused by complications associated with other illnesses such as pneumonia for example. Even though most of these cases of infection have taken a mild course so far, experts warn there could be a second wave of pandemic influenza beginning. Personal hygiene measures and vaccination are among the most important prevention measures. Doctors in Germany have also begun contacting high-priority patients to get their swine flu (H1N1) shot. The Phone Guide Germany tells you where to find English language information about the swine flu (H1N1) in Germany by telephone or on the internet.

Since July 1st, 2009, emergency calls by cell phone without an active SIM card are not possible anymore in Germany. However, it is still possible to make an emergency call by cell phone even when the active SIM card is logged into another network. Users of prepaid SIM cards should check regularly whether their SIM card is still active, because some mobile phone providers may cancel the prepaid account when the phone hasn’t been used for quite a while. The Phone Guide Germany lists the most important numbers to call in Germany in case of an emergency or to find out other phone numbers.

There is only one company operating fixed lines in all parts in Germany and offering home phone and DSL connections with a short minimum term: Deutsche Telekom with the brands T-Home and T-Online. On the other hand, the monthly fees and service charges of the T-Home offers seem very expensive compared to home phone and DSL packages of competitors in the market. However, there are several reasons why people living in Germany might still decide on a home phone and/or DSL connection of T-Home. The Phone Guide Germany explains what you have to be aware of when requesting a fixed line and compares home packages with short minimum term.

Mobile access to broadband internet with notebook or netbook is possible in all four German networks of T-Mobile, Vodafone, E-Plus, and o2 Germany. While E-Plus still only offers data transfer rates of up to 384 kbps, the other three operators are constantly upgrading their UMTS and HSPA networks. Right now maximum data speeds hardly exceed 7.2 mbps, in the network of o2 maximum speeds are rather 3.6 mbps at the moment.