Swiss post offices have sold mobile plans and prepaid cards from many different mobile service providers for many years now. Now, for the first time, the Swiss Post is offering its own mobile plans.
Numerous other retailers like Migros, Coop, Aldi, Lidl, and Galaxus Mobile already offer their own mobile plans in collaboration with telecom networks.
Overview of Post Mobile plans
The Swiss Post offers these four new mobile plans:
| Plan |
Start |
Swiss |
Europe |
World |
| Monthly fee |
CHF 14.95 |
CHF 24.95 |
CHF 34.95 |
CHF 49.95 |
| One-time activation fee |
CHF 49.95 |
CHF 49.95 |
CHF 49.95 |
CHF 49.95 |
Mobile network for
Switzerland |
Salt |
Salt |
Salt |
Salt |
Included local phone
calls in Switzerland |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
Included local data in
Switzerland |
8 GB per month |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
Included international
phone calls from
Switzerland to other
countries |
None |
None |
Unlimited calls to some
European countries |
Unlimited calls to some
European countries and
600 minutes per month to
an additional group of
countries. |
| Included roaming data |
None |
2 GB per month
in Europe |
6 GB per month
in Europe |
20 GB per month1 in Europe
5 GB per month1 in an
additional group of countries |
1 After you reach these thresholds, data is throttled to 128 Kbps.
Contracts have a minimum term of one month. If you buy a phone along with your plan, the minimum term is 24 months. The structure of the Post Mobile plans is similar to that of plans from many other telecom companies. The higher a plan’s monthly fee is, the more capabilities are included in the plan. The more expensive plans include mobile roaming. Even the names of the plans, Start, Swiss, Europe, and World, are also used by some other mobile service providers.
In addition to the four new mobile plans, Post Mobile also has a prepaid mobile offer.
Introductory offer
For the product launch, the post office is offering an introductory discount of five francs per month. This discount applies for as long as you keep your mobile plan. The discount applies to online subscriptions to Post Mobile plans until March 7, 2024, and to subscriptions at a post office until March 28, 2024. The one-time activation fee of 49.95 francs is waived if you subscribe before March 7, 2024.
Not the first mobile plan from the post office
This is not the post office’s first attempt to enter the mobile service market. Salt – which was branded as Orange at the time – launched the Das Abo mobile service many years ago. At their launch, Das Abo plans were offered exclusively in Swiss post offices. The Postpaid plan from Yallo – which even includes the word post in its title – was sold exclusively at post offices for a time. But the launch of Post Paid marks the first time that the post office has offered its own mobile service under its own brand.
Watch out for roaming pitfalls
If you have expectations that a mobile plan titled Europe will include unlimited calls and data roaming in all EU countries, you will find that plan from Post Mobile disappointing. “Consumers expect that a plan titled Europe can be used in all EU countries. There is no reason why you would pay more to use your phone in Croatia than you would in Spain,” says Ralf Beyeler from moneyland.ch. Customers should also be careful when using the Swiss and World plans, which also exclude many European countries from their European allowances.
“Salt and the mobile service providers that use its network are the only Swiss telecom service provider that excludes so many EU countries from its Europe allowances. Salt’s competitors generally include all or nearly all EU countries in their allowances for Europe,” clarifies Beyeler. “Mobile plans from Sunrise and Swisscom, along with service providers that use their networks, are more customer-friendly in this regard.”
Other companies also bet on mobile plans
Joint ventures between retailers and telecom companies are nothing new in Switzerland. Migros and Coop launched their own mobile plans in the fall of 2005. The three telecom network operators Swisscom, Sunrise, and Salt collaborate with retailers to offer mobile plans under the Migros and Coop brands (Swisscom), the Aldi brand (Sunrise), and the Lidl brand (Salt). The biggest Swiss online retailer, Digitec Galaxus, rents capacity from the Sunrise network and sells its own mobile plans under the Galaxus Mobile brand.
But this strategy has not always worked out. The mobile plans offered by the drink manufacturer Red Bull and the free newspaper 20 Minutes were not able to gain a foothold in the Swiss market.
Price comparison with other plans
Ralf Beyeler from moneyland.ch calculated how well the new plans compare with competing offers. The comparison is based on the standard pricing for the mobile plans.
- Start: 15 francs per month is a good price for a mobile plan with unlimited calls and eight gigabytes of data. But the plan from Go-Mo, a subsidiary of Salt, costs two francs less per month and includes unlimited local data in Switzerland. Galaxus Mobile is also cheaper, but only for the first year.
- Swiss: 25 francs per month for unlimited calls and data in Switzerland, plus two gigabytes of roaming data, is a good price. But there are plans that cost just a few francs more which include five gigabytes of roaming data instead of two. You should also be aware that the roaming data in the Swiss plan can only be used in some EU countries.
In general, it is often cheaper to get a plan without any roaming allowances, and then buy roaming bundles before traveling. For people who only travel occasionally, the Swiss plan from Post Mobile costs more than some competing plans that give you unlimited calls and data in Switzerland for less than 20 francs per month.
- Europe: The Europe plan is interesting if you travel to other European countries covered by this plan very regularly – almost every month. Many mobile service providers offer comparable mobile plans, but with only five gigabytes of roaming data (one gigabyte less), for less than 30 francs per month. It is worth taking a moment to consider whether or not paying around 35 francs per month for a plan with six gigabytes of roaming data is worth it for you.
- World: There are not many Swiss mobile plans that include roaming allowances for countries like Argentina, Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia. 50 francs is a good price, when you account for the allowances included. But you should note that data roaming in countries like Bulgaria and Slovenia is limited to five gigabytes. Many competing offers include these countries in their Europe allowances, with much higher data volumes. Frequent travelers should check if the countries they travel to are included when calculating whether the World plan can pay off for them. Depending on the country and your user habits, offers from other service providers – primarily specialized travel eSIM providers – can be much cheaper.
Conclusion from Ralf Beyeler
On the whole, the new mobile plans from the Swiss Post are not a game-changer. The post office will not be able to rock the Swiss telecom boat with offers like these. While the mobile plans from the post office are substantially cheaper than plans from the three big Swiss telecom companies, from a price standpoint there are a fair number of cheaper alternatives. That is why it is worth comparing before you settle on a mobile plan.
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