Swisscom has offered a mobile plan under the SimplyMobile brand since last autumn. Now Swisscom is launching a SimplyMobile-branded prepaid offer as well.
The SimplyMobile prepaid service charges 29 centimes per minute for calls and 15 centimes per SMS. Customers can request a 15 Centime Package which includes 100 minutes, SMS messages or MMS messages for 15 Swiss francs. For data users, SimplyMobile Prepaid offers a Surf Package with 750 megabytes of mobile data for 9.90 francs. The prepaid credits of both packages do not expire but remain valid until they are used.
Verdict by moneyland.ch telecom expert Ralf Beyeler
This new prepaid offer provides and interesting option for the many mobile phone users who do not frequently use mobile data or make phone calls. The fact that prepaid credits for data, calls and SMS messages do not expire makes this a particularly customer-friendly offer.
Example: If a consumer uses 200 megabytes of mobile data and makes 10 minutes of phone calls per month, they would spend just 4 francs per month using this offer. That makes it the cheapest offer currently available for this user profile.
Customers who make phone calls should purchase the 15 Centime Package. The standard SimplyMobile rates are nearly twice as expensive as the rates you get with the package.
This product is not a sensible option for consumers who make a lot of phone calls or use a lot of mobile data. There are other offers which are much better suited to the needs of heavy users.
Using the SimplyMobile Prepaid service for data roaming is not recommended. A 250-megabyte data roaming bundle for Europe costs 15 francs, making SimplyMobile Prepaid more expensive for data roaming than competing offers.
With its SimplyMobile brand and non-expiring credits, Swisscom is following a customer-friendly strategy. It is unfortunate that Swisscom itself, and its competitors, have not begun offering non-expiring telecom bundles as well.
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