swisscom roaming bundles 2024
Telecom News

Swisscom Launches Data Roaming Bundles for Seven Countries

May 24, 2024 - Ralf Beyeler

Swisscom is offering new data bundles for mobile roaming in seven countries. At the same time, Swisscom is raising its standard rates for making calls while roaming and for international phone calls from Switzerland to other countries.

Swisscom is now offering country-specific roaming bundles for these seven countries and territories:

  • Germany
  • Kosovo
  • Thailand
  • Tunisia
  • Turkey
  • USA
  • Vietnam

One gigabyte für 9.90 francs, 20 gigabytes for 49.90 francs

For all seven countries, a bundle with one gigabyte of roaming data costs 9.90 francs. Swisscom also offers larger bundles whose prices differ depending on the country.

The following table offers an overview of Swisscom’s new data bundles for Internet roaming in seven countries.

Country/Territory 1 GB 5 GB 10 GB 20 GB
Germany CHF 9.90 -- CHF 39.90 CHF 49.90
Kosovo CHF 9.90 -- CHF 39.90 --
Thailand CHF 9.90 -- CHF 39.90 --
Tunisia CHF 9.90 CHF 39.90 -- --
Turkey CHF 9.90 -- CHF 39.90 CHF 49.90
USA CHF 9.90 -- CHF 39.90 CHF 49.90
Vietnam CHF 9.90 CHF 39.90 -- --

 

The bundle for Germany will become available from June 14, 2024 – which coincides with the kickoff of the European Football Championship in that country. Bundles for the other six countries will only become available on July 1, 2024.

All of these data bundles have a 365-day validity period. Swisscom will continue offering its existing zone-based bundles. The new bundles are not available to prepaid mobile customers.

Swisscom is raising its standard rates

When you use your Swiss SIM to make or receive calls while traveling in other countries, you have to pay roaming fees. Swisscom charges the same price for receiving incoming calls, making calls to Switzerland from another country, and making calls to local numbers in the country you are traveling in.

From August 1, 2024, Swisscom is raising its per-minute fees for roaming calls:

Zone Countries (examples) Previous
per-minute price
New
per-minute price
EU/UK All EU countries, United Kingdom CHF 0.40 CHF 0.40
Welt 1 Albania, Australia, Serbia, USA CHF 1.50 CHF 2.00
Welt 2 Cuba, Tunisia, Vietnam CHF 2.50 CHF 3.00
Rest der Welt Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Namibia CHF 3.00 CHF 3.60

 

The per-minute price for roaming in Europe will remain the same. But Swisscom is raising the price of making calls while roaming in the other zones by 50 to 60 centimes per minute.

Tip: Swisscom offers call roaming bundles (Voice Travel offers) with 60 minutes per bundle. As long make more than 15 to 17 minutes of roaming phone calls per year, then getting one of these bundles works out cheaper. The prices of Swisscom’s Voice Travel bundles will remain unchanged.

International phone calls will soon cost more

From August 1, 2024, Swisscom will charge higher per-minute fees for phone calls from Switzerland to other countries.

The following table gives you an overview of the coming price changes:

Zone Countries (examples) Current
per-minute price
New
per-minute price
Region 1 All EU countries, United Kingdom, USA CHF 0.60 CHF 0.90
Region 2 Australia, Japan, Mexico, South Korea CHF 0.80 CHF 1.20
Region 3 Egypt, Albania, Costa Rica, Peru, Tunisia, Turkey CHF 1.20 CHF 1.80
Region 4 Bolivia, India, Cuba, Vietnam CHF 2.00 CHF 2.00
Region 5 Iraq, Namibia, Panama, Seychelles CHF 4.00 CHF 4.00

 

Verdict by telecom expert Ralf Beyeler

9.90 francs is a very affordable price for a data roaming bundle. At the moment, no other Swiss telecom service providers offer data roaming bundles that cost less than that amount.  

Swisscom, with its one-gigabyte bundle for 9.90 francs, offers the most affordable data roaming in all seven eligible countries. But it is worth noting that Swisscom is not the first telecom provider to offer bundles for Germany, Turkey, and the US at that price. Galaxus Mobile – formerly Digitec Connect – has offered a one-gigabyte bundle for 9.90 francs for two years now.

The price increases for international phone calls from Switzerland to other countries, on the other hand, are a less welcome change.

But for the sake of fairness, it is important to note that even with the price increases, Swisscom still charges less for international phone calls than its two main competitors Salt and Sunrise. For example, Swisscom previously charged 60 centimes per minute for phone calls from Switzerland to Germany, France, or the UK, and will now charge 90 centimes per minute. Sunrise charges 1.20 francs per minute for the same call, and Salt charges 1.69 francs per minute. But there are cheaper alternatives for international calls in the form of other telecom providers with lower fees, and options, bundles, and messaging apps.

Swisscom’s standard charges for roaming without a bundle are also normally more favorable than those of Salt and Sunrise. For example, using Swisscom to call Albania would cost 1.20 francs per minute with the previous rates, and 1.80 francs per minute with the new pricing. By comparison, Sunrise charges 3 francs per minute for the same call, and Salt charges 4.99 francs per minute. But phoning at standard rates does now make sense because getting one of the bundles offered by telecom providers typically works out much cheaper. If no bundles are available, then adding an option which covers international calls is a suitable alternative.

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Expert Ralf Beyeler
Ralf Beyeler is the telecom expert at moneyland.ch and also covers other areas of personal finance.
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