iPhone 3G plans to start at $55 in Austria, $47 in Belgium
T-Mobile Austria will sell the next generation of the iPhone with subsidized pricing depending on the choice of plans, which start at $55 per month. Belgians will have a less expensive $30 rate but, in an unusual twist from local laws, have little option but to buy a pricier unlocked Apple device.
Austria's original provider for iPhone 3G, T-Mobile, plans to effectively carry over its existing plans for the now discontinued original iPhone, albeit with an important change in pricing for the devices.
A standard Classic plan will offer 1,000 minutes of calling time to any mobile network, 3GB of data per month, Visual Voicemail, and free T-Mobile Wi-Fi for a special rate of â¬35 ($55) per month for the first 10,000 customers. The plan increases to â¬39 ($61) per month for all other users and charges 15 Euro cents for every extra minute of voice, 25 cents for every extra SMS, and 10 cents for every megabyte past the data limit.
Subscribers buying an iPhone 3G with the Classic plan pay either â¬149 ($234) for an 8GB model or â¬229 ($360) for a 16GB version.
Those opting for the Supreme plan get the same amount of minutes, data, and support for voicemail and Wi-Fi, but can make calls at no extra cost to any type of network and receive 1,000 text messages per month. The plan normally costs â¬55 ($86) per month but is dropping to â¬45 ($71) per month for any of the first 10,000 users opting for the premium plan.
The iPhone itself costs less with these plans: an 8GB unit is priced at â¬99 ($156), while the 16GB model sells for â¬179 ($281).
Mobistar of Belgium
For most iPhone 3G customers in Belgium, who initially have to sign up with Mobistar, the primary obstacle will be the price of the handset.
Legislation in Belgium prevents Mobistar from selling any cellphone locked to its own network. While this gives customers the freedom to switch to another provider or temporarily use prepaid service, it also raises the price, according to the carrier. An 8GB iPhone 3G costs â¬525 ($826) while choosing a 16GB flagship boosts that price to â¬615 ($967) — a price that may stand as the most expensive for any carrier.
Its calling plans are also not as broad as in some countries. An entry plan at â¬30 ($47) gives 180 minutes of calling time and 300 text messages, but just 200MB of data. Picking the mid-range â¬45 ($71) plan doubles the calling time and text to 360 minutes and 600 messages respectively while supplying 500MB of data every month. The best plan, at â¬60 ($94) per month, gives 540 minutes for calls and 900 messages but sets a 1GB cap for data.
Passing over any of the limits also incurs overage fees. Calls cost 20 Euro cents per minute over the limit, while text costs 12 cents a message and data is two cents for every additional megabyte.
11 Comments
I'd love to able to get the Austrian plan! Instead, I have Vodafone... Yupi
Austria's sole provider for iPhone 3G, T-Mobile, ...
Well, this is not correct. Orange Austria (ONE) will also carry the iPhone in Austria, info here: http://www.one.at/iphone
At least in belgium we get it seem free, and i bet that in the coming days we'll see iphone plans from the other 2 big carriers, proximus and base, give the fact that we already have 12000 iphones 1.0 HACKED running on our networks... now the real question is: is it globally sim unlocked or does it have a regional/land simlock on it? I called today 3 mobistar shops and all of them answered the same, the iPhone is simlock free and in belgium it means that it will be GLOBALLY unlocked, now how much would you be willing to pay for a fully unlocked iphone, with apple and carrier warranty ??? plus for the prices of the high end smart phones in the belgian market, that is not a bad price at all, if you recall that when the nokia N95 came on the market it was 690 euros...
For most iPhone 3G customers in Belgium, who initially have to sign up with Mobistar, the primary obstacle will be the price of the handset.
Legislation in Belgium prevents Mobistar from selling any cellphone locked to its own network. While this gives customers the freedom to switch to another provider or temporarily use prepaid service, it also raises the price, according to the carrier. An 8GB iPhone 3G costs ?525 ($826) while choosing a 16GB flagship boosts that price to ?615 ($967) -- a price that may stand as the most expensive for any carrier.
Its calling plans are also not as broad as in some countries. An entry plan at ?30 ($47) gives 180 minutes of calling time and 300 text messages, but just 200MB of data. Picking the mid-range ?45 ($71) plan doubles the calling time and text to 360 minutes and 600 messages respectively while supplying 500MB of data every month. The best plan, at ?60 ($94) per month, gives 540 minutes for calls and 900 messages but sets a 1GB cap for data.
Passing over any of the limits also incurs overage fees. Calls cost 20 Euro cents per minute over the limit, while text costs 12 cents a message and data is two cents for every additional megabyte.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
The unlocked law with Belgium is easy to understand, but where are these insane prices coming from? What are the prices of no-contract handsets in other European countries? I understand that traditionally Apple has always somewhat screwed the Europeans (plus tariffs, tax etc) by retailing Apple products at the same unit price in both US Dollars and Euros, even though the Euro is worth 1.5x USD. Is this the case here, is Apple is gouging the hell out of the the European carriers (or Belgium in particular) for the handsets?
How much do you Europeans pay for similar no-contract, high-end smartphones like the N95 8GB in Euros? Also, the Austria prices look good.
The unlocked law with Belgium is easy to understand, but where are these insane prices coming from? What are the prices of no-contract handsets in other European countries? I understand that traditionally Apple has always somewhat screwed the Europeans (plus tariffs, tax etc) by retailing Apple products at the same unit price in both US Dollars and Euros, even though the Euro is worth 1.5x USD. Is this the case here, is Apple is gouging the hell out of the the European carriers (or Belgium in particular) for the handsets?
How much do you Europeans pay for similar no-contract, high-end smartphones like the N95 8GB in Euros?
Actually these prices in Belgium are excellent - they will have to close the borders to protect citizens with claustrophobia.
The measly Nokia 8800 (designer-phone which cannot do nothing and runs out of spunk after 35 minutes talk-time) costed me 1080 EUR when it came out, the Nokia N95 with 8GB was 750 EUR when it was released, I paid 970 EUR for the SE P910i when it was new etc. Compared to that the iPhone in Belgium is a bargain.
If you look further - prepaid 3G iPhones in Italy, Switzerland and the UK will be equally expensive or even more expensive and these are netlocked, so even after paying a substantial amount of money you would still have to resort to jailbreaking to use them abroad or with another provider.