Unlimited Data and Calls: A Guide to Flat Fee Plans

Flat-fee mobile plans and prepaid bundles with unlimited data and/or calls are the telecom equivalent of all-you-can-eat restaurants. You pay a monthly flat fee and can make all the calls and use as much data as you want. But flat-fee offers are not always the best choice. This guide explains when using flat-fee offers makes sense.

Unlimited data in Switzerland

Today, many Swiss mobile plans include unlimited data. You pay the flat monthly fee and can spend as much time online and as you want. With most of these plans you only get unlimited data within Switzerland and the unlimited data does not apply when you leave the country. If you live near the border, you must take care that your phone only connects directly to your Swiss service provider.

Mobile plans with unlimited local data without throttling are now offered for less than 20 francs per month.

Unlimited data for prepaid mobile

Unlimited data for a flat fee is no longer limited to mobile plans. Some telecom service providers now offer unlimited data bundles for prepaid mobile too.

Some service providers offer a paid option which lets prepaid users continue to use data for the rest of the month after included data allowances have been exhausted.

Example: Yallo All in 30 prepaid users can get a prepaid option for 10 francs which extends the 5-gigabyte data allowance to unlimited data for the remainder of the month in which the option is purchased.

Throttled data: Beware of fake flat fee plans

Some offers advertise unlimited data, when they actually have limited mobile data allowances. The actual data allowances are generally only shown in the fine print.

Once the monthly data allowances of these plans are used up, the data connections are throttled. While you do get “unlimited” data for a flat fee, and you can technically continue to use mobile data, the data connections are throttled to speeds so slow as to make them virtually unusable for most applications.

Unlimited data roaming for a flat fee

Some mobile service providers advertise plans with unlimited data roaming outside of Switzerland in addition to unlimited local mobile data. But many of these data roaming plans do in fact limit data roaming. For example, Blue Mobile from Swisscom limits data roaming to 40 gigabytes per month. You do not pay data roaming fees after the 40-gigabyte allowance has been exhausted, but the data connection is throttled to an extremely low speed.

Important: For mobile users who only travel abroad occasionally, getting a data roaming plan is not worth the cost in many cases. The reason for this is that the monthly flat fees are high in comparison to those of other plans.

When choosing a flat-fee data roaming plan, it is important to consider which countries are included in the flat-fee roaming allowance. For example, many plans which advertise data roaming allowances for Europe exclude some European countries (like Montenegro or Macedonia, for example). The flat-fee data roaming allowances of some offers also include Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico in addition to European countries.

Unlimited calls within Switzerland

Most Swiss mobile plans now include unlimited phone calls within Switzerland in their flat fees, regardless of which Swiss mobile service provider the person you are calling uses. There are even some prepaid mobile bundles that include unlimited calls within Switzerland in their flat prepaid price tags.

But there are mobile plans which do not really give you unlimited calls for the flat fee. Out-of-network calls to phones serviced by other telecom companies are billed separately.

Unlimited call roaming for a flat fee

Some Swiss mobile plans include unlimited call roaming outside of Switzerland in addition to unlimited local phone calls. These unlimited roaming allowances normally only apply to phone calls.

When choosing a flat-fee call roaming plan, make sure that the countries you travel to are included in the unlimited call roaming allowances. There are major differences in which countries are covered by the flat fees of different plans. In some cases, the logic is difficult to understand. For example, some plans which advertise unlimited call roaming in Europe exclude some European countries (Albania, for example), but include far-away countries like the United States.

Unlimited international calls from Switzerland to other countries

Some mobile plans include unlimited international calls from Switzerland to other countries in their flat fees. These plans can be interesting for expats and other people who frequently call family, friends or contacts outside of Switzerland. But Internet-based services like WhatsApp and Skype which let you make international voice calls over any Internet connection – in many cases free of charge – make direct international calling less relevant in many cases.

Some international call plans only include some countries which border Switzerland. Others include calls to far-away countries like the United States or Australia in their flat fees.

Are flat-fee plans worth the cost?

Mobile offers which include unlimited services for flat fees are often relatively expensive. This is especially true in the case of mobile plans which include roaming allowances. Being able to make unlimited calls or use data while knowing exactly how much you will pay every month is practical. But before getting a flat-fee offer, you should take a moment to consider whether you use the included allowances enough to justify the flat fee. Many people overestimate their phone usage, and actually use less mobile data or make fewer phone calls than they believe they do. Additionally, the need for unlimited mobile data is greatly reduced if you are able to take advantage of free WLAN connections.

Compare Swiss flat fee offers

Ultimately, the right mobile plan or prepaid mobile service for you is the one that gives you the services you need at the lowest possible price. Depending on your needs, the right offer may or may not be a flat fee offer. The interactive Swiss mobile plan and prepaid mobile comparison makes it easy to find the cheapest offers which match your mobile needs.

The comparison lets you specify the countries which you need roaming and/or international call allowances for. It also accounts for current special promotional offers, which are updated on a daily basis.

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