Minutel Offers Low Rates for Mobile Phone Calls

Home » News

Minutel Offers Low Rates for Mobile Phone Calls

20 April 2010 5 Comments

Logo, Source: Minutel

Minutel is a new provider with low rates for mobile phone calls and texting (SMS) within Germany. Subscribers to the Minutel prepaid price plan pay EUR 0.075 per minute for calls to German landlines and mobile phones and EUR 0.075 for each text message. Mobile phone calls between Minutel subscribers cost only EUR 0.049 per minute, checking voice mail is free of charge. For accessing the internet via GPRS or UMTS over the network of operator E-Plus, Minutel subscribers pay EUR 0.24 per megabyte. International calls from Germany to other countries cost between EUR 0.49 and EUR 1.49 depending on the country.

There is no monthly fee or minimum charge and no long term commitment for this – what I believe it is – quasi-prepaid price plan. The prepaid starter packages including the SIM card and and credit of EUR 5.00 is available at www.minutel.de for EUR 10.00. Customers need to name a residence in Germany in order to buy the prepaid starter package of Minutel. New calling credit can be topped up online or by buying a voucher at a gas station, kiosk or drug store. New credit must be topped up within 240 days after the SIM card has been activated, otherwise the provider may terminate the contract.

Users of a Minutel SIM card can also send each other text messages fro free with an application called “MinutelSIMS”. These messages may contain up to 120 characters. This application is already installed on the SIM card and must not be downloaded from an app store by the user. Minutel also offers collect calls and a rewards program called “Teleprofit” in which subscribers can participate.

“Minutel Plus” for Low-Cost International Calls

There is an alternative prepaid price plan by Minutel called “Plus” with higher charges for mobile phone calls and texting within Germany, but with calls billed in one-second units. With “Minutel Plus” mobile phone users pay only EUR 0.089 per minute for international calls to landlines in European countries such as Great Britain, France, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Poland, Russia, Croatia, Spain, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland as well as Japan, Canada and the United States.

Overviews of current cell phone plans in Germany:
Prepaid Price Plans with Single Tariff for Mobile Phone Calls
Prepaid Price Plans with Community Tariff for Mobile Phone Calls
Prepaid Price Plans with Flat Rate Tariff for Mobile Phone Calls
Prepaid Price Plans for International Mobile Phone Calls

Written by: Bjoern

Tags: E-Plus, Mobile Internet, Mobile Phone, Prepaid, Price Plan, UMTS

5 Comments »

Nick Botson said:

Hello and congratulations on the very informative site. I have one question about your article on Minutel. You wrote that it is a “quasi-prepaid price plan”. Did you get that info from their site? I failed to see if it is a normal-prepaid or a quasi-prepaid price plan, since my German is limited.

However, when I looked on your article about the differences of those two plans, Minutel mostly have the same options of the real prepaid plans and not the quasi-prepaid price plans. For example, you can top up your credit with a voucher/code, you don’t need a German bank account to buy their starter pack, it is possible to check your credit balance via the *101# USSD code, their starter pack comes with small amount of credit etc.

# 27 April 2010 at 4:43 pm

Bjoern (author) said:

Hello Nick – maybe you are right and my assumption is wrong. It is always hard to say. Since Minutel says, there might be a negative balance on the prepaid account of the subscriber, it sounds as if Minutel bills over a postpaid platform and it is quasi-prepaid. But even if not: It doesn’t really matter because it is low rates for mobile phones that count, isn’t it?

# 28 April 2010 at 4:53 pm

Nick Botson said:

Thanks for the prompt reply Bjoern,

as you suggest on your previous very informative article about real vs. quasi-prepaid plans, it actually matters if Minutel is quasi-prepaid in the case of “travelers, exchange students, business men or people moving to Germany”.

Being an exchange student myself (I arrived in Germany last month and will stay for one year), I suppose that I can’t become a subscriber of Minutel if they indeed offer a quasi-prepaid plan. That’s a pity, since their tariff for calling abroad is the best.

# 29 April 2010 at 10:36 am

Bjoern (author) said:

You need to indicate a residence in Germany and must have a banking account or a credit card in order to buy the prepaid starter package of Minutel. And they might check your credit report. I don’t know to what country you want to call, but check our overview at http://www.phone-guide-germany.com/prepaid-plans-international-calls/2306/ for prepaid price plans of German mobile phone providers for international calls.

# 29 April 2010 at 3:16 pm

Nick Botson said:

Thanks for the information. I do have a German bank account and German address of residence, but I prefer a “real prepaid” plan.

However, you *don’t* need a German bank account to order the Minutel starter pack. They also offer Paypal. Perhaps, this is an indication that it is not a “quasi-prepaid” plan but a “real” one?

I usually call EU countries so based on your overview article, the best for me would be Fonic or Solomo Pro that don’t have extra set up prices for each call. But I’ll probably go for Fonic since you can buy your cards and credit everywhere and have better data plans that Solomo pro.

Thanks again!

# 30 April 2010 at 10:43 am