Using the interactive mobile plan comparison, moneyland.ch telecom expert Ralf Beyeler evaluated Swiss mobile plans to determine which plans let students use mobile Internet for the least money.
Huge price differences
For its analysis, moneyland.ch compare mobile plans, prepaid offers, youth offers and special promotions based on 2 different user profiles. In both profiles, the student makes four 3-minute phone calls per month. In the first profile (flat-fee Internet), the student transfers large amounts of data over the mobile Internet connection. In the second profile, the student only uses 4 gigabytes of mobile data per month.
The result: There are notable differences between mobile service providers. “Simply switching mobile service providers can save students 20 to 50 francs per month,” states moneyland.ch telecom expert Ralf Beyeler.
Special promotions for students
In its research, moneyland.ch only found one offer which is only available to students. The Projekt Neptun project is offering two Yallo mobile plans with student discounts until September 30, 2019. The Swiss Flat plan costs just 25 francs for eligible students (instead of the standard 58 francs), and the Super Flat XL plan costs just 54 francs instead of 120 francs. However, Yallo special promotions for both of these plans by which non-students can sign up for 29 francs per month and 59 francs per month respectively. The additional discounts for students are 4 and 5 francs per month respectively.
None of the major telecom service providers have student-only offers, as communicated by them to moneyland.ch. However, Swisscom, Sunrise and Salt all have youth offers which many students can benefit from. Students under the age of 26 (Swisscom) or 30 (Sunrise and Salt) can sign up for youth plans.
Keeping tabs of special promotions for both youth offers and regular offers pay off. Promotions are included in the interactive mobile plan and prepaid service comparison on moneyland.ch. Students up to the age of 30 can select “Include youth offers” to include plans which are only available to young adults in comparisons. Important: Special promotions are subject to change on a daily basis.
Profile 1: Flat-fee Internet compared
Many students want to stay connected to the Internet no matter where they are, and a mobile data connection a basic need for these students. Streaming services like YouTube, Netflix and Spotify are also popular among students, and these services require large data transfers. Students who frequently stream video or music over the Internet generally need a mobile plan which includes unlimited Internet for a flat fee.
Only mobile plans which include unlimited mobile data use in their flat fees were accounted for in the first profile. Plans which offers “unlimited” mobile data but throttle data transfer speeds once monthly limits have been reached are not accounted for in this profile.
The results: The cheapest mobile plan for students that fit this profile is the Swiss Flat plan from Yallo which is offered to students through Projekt Neptun. Users receive a monthly discount for the life of their mobile plan. The plan costs 349 francs over the first year (25 x 12, plus a one-time 49-franc fee).
In second place is a youth plan from Salt. As part of a special promotion, new users receive a monthly discount on the standard price for 24 months. The cost of the plan for the first year is 408.40 francs. That is 17% more than the special offer from Yallo via Projekt Neptun. Once the promotional period expires, the Salt plan costs a much higher 599.40 francs per year.
In third place is a plan from UPC. When taken out as part of a current promotion, the total costs of the plan over the first year are 468 francs. That is 34% more than the special offer from Yallo.
Differences between the flat fees charged by different service providers for unlimited mobile data are huge. The cheapest unlimited-data mobile plan from Swisscom costs 350 francs more than the cheapest unlimited-data plan from Yallo. That is a 101% price difference.
At 479.90 francs per month, Sunrise’ prepaid offer for unlimited internet is much cheaper than its equivalent mobile plan. Young students matching this profile would pay around 230 francs more using a Sunrise mobile plan than using its most affordable prepaid offer – a price discrepancy of 48%.
Even bigger price differences apply to Swisscom users who are over 26 years old. These students pay 820 francs for the cheapest plan from Swisscom, or 135% more than they would pay for the most affordable plan available (the Yallo plan).
Profile 2: Mobile plans with 4 gigabytes of Internet compared
Students who do not stream video or perform other data-intensive tasks generally do not need unlimited mobile data. In practice, many students connect to the Internet via WLAN networks much of the time. The mobile plan used has no impact on how much data can be transferred over a third-party WLAN connection.
For this student profile, moneyland.ch compared the costs of mobile plans which provide at least 4 gigabytes (GB) of mobile data.
The cheapest plan for this profile is offered by prepaid service Mucho. Students using this plan would pay 219.80 francs in the first year. Second in line are German discount retailers Lidl and Aldi, both of which offer eligible plans for around 288 francs per year.
Even the budget service providers M-Budget and Wingo are notably more expensive. The cheapest plan from M-Budget matching this profile costs 379.60 francs per year – and that is with a special promotion. That is around 160 francs more than the cheapest plan for this profile (Mucho), or a difference of 73%. The cheapest eligible plan from Wingo costs 460 francs per year – 240 francs more than the Mucho plan. That makes Wingo twice as expensive as Mucho for this profile. An interesting fact is that Mucho, M-Budget and Wingo all use the Swisscom mobile network.
The big mobile service providers are also expensive. Students fitting this profile would pay 348.40 franc for the first year with Salt. That is around 130 francs more than the cheapest available offer. An eligible prepaid service from Sunrise would cost the student 479.90 francs per month. This prepaid Sunrise service provides unlimited mobile data for a flat-fee, but is still cheaper than Sunrise mobile plans with limited data.
Even with a special promotion, UPC is relatively expensive for this profile, at 468 francs for the first year (and 588 francs per year after that).
Swisscom’s cheapest option for this profile is a prepaid service which costs 663.50 for the first year. That makes Swisscom 450 francs more expensive than the cheapest option (Mucho). Students fitting this profile pay three times more with Swisscom than with Mucho. Students under 26 years old pay 700 francs over the first year for a youth plan from Swisscom. Students above the age of 26 pay 820 francs for the first year. An interesting fact: Swisscom charges exactly the same amount for a plan with 4 gigabytes of mobile data (included data plus additional data bundles) as it does for a plan with unlimited Internet and a flat fee.
Comparing and switching pays off
The moneyland.ch evaluation clearly shows the huge differences in the pricing of mobile plans for students and young people. It also shows the savings which can be achieved when students compare mobile plans and prepaid offers. Read the guide to choosing a mobile plan for students for useful advice on selecting a mobile plan.
More on this topic:
Comprehensive mobile plan comparison
Guide to mobile plans for students
