Telekom Switches 1.3m Lines to Mobile
- Deutsche Telekom is migrating roughly 1.3 million pure-landline customers to a mobile-network solution using a dedicated radio box.
- Telekom's new tariffs start at 22.95 euros per month, but comparable mobile flat-rate deals are available on the open market for around five euros monthly.
- Comparison portal Verivox calculates that customers who accept Telekom's offer could pay more than 200 euros extra per year, rising to nearly 263 euros when hardware costs are
Deutsche Telekom is converting approximately 1.3 million customers away from Germany's last remaining landline connections — those running without DSL or fibre — onto the mobile network, a move that carries significantly higher costs than alternatives freely available on the open market.
What the migration involves
The affected customers currently use classic telephone connections with no broadband component. Under the new arrangement, Telekom will install a dedicated radio box between the customer's telephone handset and the wall socket, routing calls via the mobile network. Customers' existing landline numbers will be retained.
The cost of Telekom's new tariffs
Telekom's entry-level "Call via Funk" tariff is priced at 22.95 euros per month but covers only 120 minutes of calls. Customers who require unlimited calls to German landlines must pay 32.45 euros per month. On top of the monthly charge, the required radio box carries a one-off cost of 100 euros, or an ongoing monthly fee of 3.95 euros.
Cheaper options exist elsewhere
Calculations by comparison portal Verivox indicate that mobile tariffs including a telephone flat rate are already available on the open market for around five euros per month. Against Telekom's equivalent offering, that represents a saving of more than 200 euros annually. When the cost of the Telekom hardware is factored in, the potential annual saving rises to almost 263 euros, according to Verivox.
Verivox expert Jörg Schamberg noted that customers had previously been able to plug their telephone directly into the wall socket, adding that the migration fundamentally alters that arrangement. Telekom is not alone in withdrawing pure telephone-only connections: Vodafone, O2 and 1&1 are said to have ceased offering landline services without broadband some time ago.
A note for older customers
For customers who do not wish to use a smartphone, desktop handsets fitted with a SIM card offer an alternative. These devices resemble conventional landline telephones but operate directly over the mobile network and are reported to cost less than Telekom's radio box solution.
With millions of households facing a decision on whether to accept Telekom's migration terms or seek a cheaper alternative, the migration marks what may prove to be the definitive end of the classic fixed-line telephone in Germany.