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Overview of Prepaid UMTS Surf Stick Packages for Notebook Users

3 June 2010 9 Comments

Updated on March 30th, 2011

UMTS Surf Sticks

UMTS Surf Sticks, Picture: Phone Guide Germany

This is an overview of prepaid packages including an UMTS surf stick, a SIM card and a mobile data tariff that are available for notebook and netbook users in Germany. Subscribers can choose between different offers in the networks of Telekom (T-Mobile), Vodafone, E-Plus, and O2 Germany and between different pricing models, e.g. per day or per month. Some of these prepaid starter packages include a SIM card that can only be used for mobile data services, but not for mobile phone calls. Sometimes these prepaid starter packages also include a small amount of credit for mobile access to the Internet via GPRS or UMTS.

Buyers should have their ID on them when getting a prepaid starter package at a mobile phone store. When ordering a prepaid starter package at a web store, they have to indicate a residence in Germany and pay by credit card or direct debit. Click on the providers’ names in the table to go to their websites.

In prepaid mobile data packages, transfer speeds are usually up to 7.2 mbps (download). However, these fast data transfer speeds are not available everywhere in Germany. Especially in rural areas, users might experience much slower data transmission. In flat rate tariffs, data transfer speeds are usually reduced for the remaining days of a month as soon as a certain amount of data volume has been downloaded (e.g. 5 GB) – in this overview these data volume limits are indicated in parentheses.

With many of these prepaid price plans services such as Internet telephony (voice over IP), instant messaging or peer-to-peer-services are not allowed. Before buying a prepaid web stick package, you might also want to check whether the web stick comes with a SIM or net lock or not.

Overview of Prepaid UMTS Surf Stick Packages for Notebook Users

Provider (Network) Purchase Price (Credit) Prepaid Plan Store
SIM Card Web Stick
Aldi Talk
(E-Plus)
12.99 (10.00) Huawei E1550 (3.6 mbps): 39.99 Data flat over 30 days with 5 GB for HSDPA transfers: 14.99 Aldi supermarkets
Base Laptop Tages-Flat
(E-Plus)
19.99 (10.00) Huawei E1550 (3,6 mbps): 49.00 Data flat over 1 day with 250 MB for HSDPA transfers: 3.00 E-Plus stores
Blau
(E-Plus)
4G XS Stick W10 (3.6 mbps): 79.00 (20.00) Data flat over 30 days with 5 GB for HSDPA transfers: 19.80 Blau web store
Fonic
(O2)
Huawei E1750 (7.2 mbps): 39.95 (2.50) Data flat over 1 day with 500 MB for HSPA transfers: 2.50 (until 25.00 per month) Fonic web store
Lidl Mobile
(O2)
Huawei E1550 (3.6 mbps): 39.99 (1.99) - Data flat over 1 day with 500 MB for HSPA transfers: 1.99
- Data flat over 30 days with 5 GB for HSPA transfers: 14.99
Lidl supermarkets
O2 Germany ZTE MF190 (7.2 mbps): 29.99 (17.50) - Data flat over 1 day with 500 MB for HSPA transfers: 3.50
- Data flat over 30 days with 5 GB for HSPA transfers: 25.00
O2 Germany stores
Tchibo Mobil
(O2)
Huawei E1750 (7.2 mbps): 29.90 (1 mth free) - Data flat over 1 day with 500 MB for HSPA transfers: 2.95
- Data flat over 30 days with 500 MB for HSPA transfers: 9.95
- Data flat over 30 days with 5 GB for HSPA transfers: 19.95
Tchibo stores
Telekom (T-Mobile) Xtra web’n'walk Huawei 1550 (3.6 mbps): 44.90 - Data flat over 1 day with 1 GB for HSDPA transfers: 4.95 Telekom stores
Vodafone WebSessions ZTE K3565-Z (3.6 mbps): 39.90 - 1 GB for 15 min.: 0.15
- 1 GB for 24 hrs: 3.95
- 1 GB for 7 days: 12.95
- 3 GB for 30 days: 39.95
(all with HSDPA speed)
Vodafone stores

Prices in euro, last update: March 30th, 2011

9 Comments »

  • Android2.1: Google Nexus One Price Exposed | Droid Reviews said:

    [...] Overview &#959f Prepaid UMTS Surf Stick Packages f&#959r Notebook &#1072n&#1281 Netbook Users [...]

  • Anselm jay said:

    I will be travelling to Rodby in Denmark I would like to know which shops sell pre-paid mobile internet sim in that area.

  • Hazel C said:

    Hi Bjoern,

    Can you give me info on which ones do allow Internet Telephony? I am here in Germany right now and I have google voice and use that for calls to the U.S. (it’s free since it’s a U.S. number). And how about Skype? Any of these pre-paid web-stick good with doing skype?

    Also – on your table – where it says purchase price (credit) – what exactly does “credit” mean? Also, which one would you recommend given the needs I have stated above for a macbook? I just need the web stick and have no need for a data sim card. ( I don’t carry a smart phone).

    Hope you can answer my questions! Great info on the pre-paid sim card phones, too!

    Thanks much!
    Hazel

  • Bjoern (author) said:

    Hi Hazel – sorry for answering so late, I was on a trip abroad. “Credit” means starting balance that you get when buying a new SIM card. O2 Germany is the only mobile network operator in Germany not prohibiting voice over IP calls via Google Talk or Skype and instant messaging over its network. Other operators make you book a special tariff option for voip and IM. Regarding Skype: It should work over the O2 network or any other network when you have a good coverage.

    I am not sure what you mean about the web stick: Your web stick won’t work without a data SIM card. You can buy a prepaid package including a prepaid web stick and a SIM card at O2 shops for just € 19.99. Check this offer here:

    http://www.o2online.de/tarife/mit-prepaid-surfstick/

    Hope that helps!

  • Tamas said:

    Dear Bjoern,

    Your site it very useful especially for me, because I will head to Dillingen tomorrow. It might be a big fortune to get an answer from you still today, but I try, maybe I will succeed.
    I will have to keep contact with my family through Skype during the month, and as I read the O2 offered USB surfstick looks suitable for that task. Only question: what do you think for a half an hour talk daily through Skype with this package it will be sufficient for me in a month?
    Sorry if my question is not really professional, but hopefully you can revert. Thank you in advance, Tamas

  • Bjoern (author) said:

    Unfortunately, I haven’t found anything about data traffic for Skype calls. Other users report traffic will be about 3.5 MB per minute. The O2 offer should work for that assuming that mobile network coverage in Dillingen is good enough.

  • Tamas said:

    Dear Bjoern,
    Thank you for your quick response. Can I see the values of the network coverings somehow, is it measured and displayed? Or I can check it only by practising?

    Best regards,
    Tamas

  • Hazel C said:

    Hi Bjoern,

    Thanks for the info. I checked on the link and boy, they’ve increased the surf stick price by 10euros! Wow!

    So, what does 5gb per 30 days for HSPA transfer mean? Does that mean 5gb worth of downloads or uploads or both? I am not familiar with this set-up. I have always had internet connection at home in the US that is a contract so, it’s unlimited and all that, so please forgive my ignorance. If yo could explain the whole plan a little bit more for me, I’d really appreciate it.

    I’m a student here in Dessau, I was wondering if you could check the coverage here for me for O2 – the one that you were suggesting? Or if you could send me to a site that would show coverage for O2, that would be great.

    As for special tariff option for the other plans, what kind of tariffs are they and how much? Would it need some kind of special set-up? I appreciate all the info you can give me and I appreciate all the info that you’ve put up here!

    Thanks much!
    Hazel

  • Bjoern (author) said:

    Please, check this website: http://www.o2online.de/nw/support/mobilfunk/netz/index.html

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