O2 raises prices – cell phone tariffs much more expensive! How to get out of your contract

Electricity and gas prices have gone up. Now mobile phone owners have to reckon with higher tariffs. The telecommunications group Telefónica Deutschland wants to turn the price screw from spring 2023.

The decision could trigger a price tremor.

The basic prices for mobile phone brands such as O2 and Blau should increase by up to ten percent, confirmed company boss Markus Haas in an interview with the “Handelsblatt”.

“More performance at the same price is – unlike in the past – no longer possible,” said the Telefónica Deutschland boss. As justification, the manager referred to the investment costs for the expansion of the network. The press office explained that it was “not just about a price increase, but about more performance in the tariffs at a fair surcharge”.

Customers continue to receive “very good value for money” from the O2 Telefónica brands.

Which contracts are affected?

The price increases at O2 should initially only apply to new contracts and prepaid tariffs. Old contracts should continue to be continued at the existing conditions and prices. Even after the end of the term, the same tariffs could apply.

For new contracts that are concluded from the spring, however, prices should rise by ten percent. In return, however, customers should receive more data volume and benefit from increased speed.

However, such an increase in tariff performance is not financially significant because the network capacities have increased significantly as a result of the massive expansion and expansion to the 5G radio standard. In addition, many customers do not make full use of the increased data volume anyway.

Are Telekom and Vodafone following suit?

Quite possible.

A Telekom spokesman said that “despite a forward-looking purchasing policy, the higher civil engineering costs and increased energy prices made themselves felt” at the group. “We are keeping all options open when setting our future tariffs.”

A spokesman for Vodafone said that future developments in pricing are usually not commented on. However, he pointed out that “the prices for telecommunications services have become steadily cheaper in recent years”.

From the point of view of telecommunications professor Torsten Gerpott from the University of Duisburg-Essen, the announcement by O2 is the start of a general price increase on the mobile phone market. “It is an oligopolistic market with weak competition: few providers look at each other and influence each other.”

Why are prices rising on the mobile phone market?

From an economic point of view, the decision is understandable, after all, electricity and construction work have become significantly more expensive, says Gerpott. “The telecommunications companies would be ill-advised if they held on to previous prices despite such extra costs.”

In recent years, there have only been a few price increases in mobile communications, “which were mostly compensated to some extent by improved inclusive services,” said Verena Bloche from the comparison portal Verivox. That’s probably over now.

1&1 and Freenet reject price increases

In contrast to the three other network operators, the telecommunications provider 1&1 rejects a price increase. “We are not planning any price increases for mobile phone tariffs,” said a company spokeswoman. However, the company does not currently have its own network. The company is just building this and plans to release it in the fall. So far, 1&1 has mainly used the O2 cell phone network and paid rent for it. Freenet also has such a business model. Its spokeswoman said: “We currently have no plans to adjust our prices.”

How do I get out of expensive cell phone contracts?

If the provider has changed the prices or conditions, consumers generally have a special right of termination. With mobile phone tariffs, however, it is unusual for the tariffs to increase during the contract period. The contracts usually become more expensive after the end of the contract period.

FOCUS online advises:
Check your mobile phone bill to see when you can withdraw from the contract at the earliest. The exact date must be stated on every mobile phone bill. Cancel shortly before this date. This is worthwhile because providers basically want to keep their existing customers for the long term. Shortly after the termination, the providers usually submit corresponding special offers. That can be worth it.

In addition, consumers should always look for other providers and compare the tariffs shortly before the end of the contract period. Changing providers is often free of charge and completely uncomplicated. Customers can take the phone number with them free of charge. In many cases, the connection is only interrupted for a few hours (often during the night).

However, it is important to know dead spots and network coverage in your place of residence. “Broadband Measurement Germany”, for example, can help here.

“Notify cancellation” instead of “Automatically extend contract”

Many mobile phone providers offer the option of notifying the cancellation of the previous mobile phone tariff.

Customers receive a notification and can then cancel accordingly. Those affected should use this service. Cellular carriers are responding by periodically offering cheap deals. However, mobile phone users should not accept the first offer that comes along. Rather, it is helpful to compare the offer with tariffs from other providers.

Basically, it is wrong to let the contract continue unchanged. In many cases, the conditions are no longer up-to-date and therefore expensive.

• case study:
  A customer with a contract from 2014 now pays EUR 34.95 for 3 gigabytes of data volume. A number of providers offer the contract for 14.95 euros.