Mobile phone and internet provider O2 Germany lets new DSL subscribers choose between a short minimum term of just one month and a long minimum term of 24 months. The only difference between these two options: New customers choosing a DSL contract with a long minimum term get a discount on the monthly fees. However, O2 Germany is one of the few German DSL providers not charging new subscribers deciding on a short minimum term a one-time set-up fee and higher purchase prices for new DSL router. A DSL package of O2 Germany with a short minimum term of one month and flat rate tariffs for web access and landline calls to other home phones in Germany is available for prices beginning at EUR 25.00 per month.

Berlin will not get a city-wide WiFi network. The Berlin Senate has decided that there are not enough street lights in town to which WiFi antennas could be attached. Thus, setting up such a WiFi network will be too expensive for any network operator or investor, the Berlin Senate says. The Phone Guide Germany tells you at which locations in Berlin you will find free WiFi connections to the web and offers an overview of cheap prepaid price plans for accessing the internet via GPRS or UMTS.

Despite DSL, ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) is still quite popular among home phone users in Germany. It offers two lines, at least three phone numbers (Multiple Subscriber Numbers or MSN) and a better voice quality as well as more service attributes than analog lines. It also helps internet users who cannot get a DSL or another broadband connection by doubling the data transmission rate of the narrow-band internet connection. Here are three ISDN telephones that are available in German stores for less than EUR 100.00.

In a loose order we present individual price plans with a short minimum term for home phone, mobile phone or internet users in Germany. This time we give you all important details on the DSL package “DSL 16000 flex” of the provider Easybell. This DSL package includes a DSL line with data transmission rates of up to 16 mbps (download) and up to 1 mbps (upload) and a flat rate tariff for accessing the internet. The monthly charge for the user amounts to EUR 15.99, the set-up fee amounts to EUR 69.00. Currently, new subscribers pay only EUR 9.99 per month over the first half year. DSL hardware is available at the Easybell web shop for prices starting at EUR 39.00.

My top price plans of 2009 in Germany for home phone, broadband internet, mobile phone and mobile internet users are: O2 o of mobile network operator O2 Germany, Aldi Talk 24 Stunden Internet Flatrate of discount provider Medion Mobile and the double flat rate tariff Alice Fun of Hansenet. All three offers are still available and will stay my first choices in 2010 when it comes to booking a new home phone, mobile phone or internet package until another provider will launch a better price plan. Read why I recommend these three tariffs.

German telephone and internet provider Klatro has launched a new telephone service for home phone and mobile phone users called “Callavista Phone”. This new service is free of monthly fees as well as minimum charges and combines call-through, call-back and internet telephony via a SIP client. It is especially suited for international calls to other countries by home phone or mobile phone or for international roaming calls by cell phone and offers free community calls such as Skype. The advantage of the Callavista phone services to other cost-saving alternatives such as call by call, buying a prepaid SIM card in the host country or using special mobile phone tariffs for international calls: It can be used independently of any provider either by cell phone or by home phone and it is practically available worldwide.

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.

Currently, he German-based discount chain Lidl is selling WiFi routers for EUR 7.99 and additional EUR 3.95 for delivery. The hardware cheapy Targa WR 500 VoIP is only available at the Lidl online store while stocks last, not in regular stores. I do not know of any cheaper DSL hardware offer in the German market at the moment. Usually, you get a new DSL modem or router almost for free by your provider when you close a new DSL contract. However, when this first device is out order or you want to avoid long minimum term contracts it could make sense to buy the hardware on one’s own.

The following home phone packages of German providers come with a minimum term of one month and an analog telephone connection. For an ISDN line the home phone providers charge higher monthly fees. Except for the Call Plus package of T-Home, a DSL connection is included. The Alice Fun package of Hansenet and the Maxi Komplett package of M-net already include a double flat rate tariff for internet access and phone calls to other home phones in Germany. In all other packages, customers pay per minute for each phone. Hansenet also offers a flat rate option for home calls to fixed lines in all European countries, Australia, Canada and the United States for 4.90 euros per month.