The cost of a mobile SIM-only plan showed a general decline in most countries in Western Europe in Q1 2017, according to the latest research by Telecompaper. The annual comparison of mobile prices across 16 countries shows a general trend of operators including more and more data in postpaid plans, as well as many already offering a roaming allowance ahead of the change in EU rules in June. In the survey of nearly 1,600 plans available on the market, the Telecompaper EU Benchmark report found that Denmark remains the cheapest place for a mobile plan and Greece the most expensive.
The study looks at the total cost of mobile plans (TCO), both with and without a high-end smartphone, and compares the lowest and median prices on offer. Denmark was the only country with cheap prices in all comparisons, while France, Finland Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK fall into the range of mostly cheap countries, with their median TCOs falling below the median of the 16 countries in most categories. In contrast Greece and Portugal remain generally the most expensive.
Compared to a year ago, Italy has become cheaper, while Switzerland is expensive for Sim-only offerings but much less so when including a high-end device. Finland, Sweden and Norway have become slightly more expensive, as last year they all had prices below or equal to the TP16 median and now they show at least one or two ranges of plan above the TP16 median.
Looking at one of the most common plans across the 16 countries, of 1,000+ minutes and more than 10GB+ per month on Sim-only, the research found a small drop in price, to a median total cost per month of EUR 43 in Q1 2017, down 4 percent from a year earlier. Italy, with a median cost of EUR 18 for this type of plan, was the cheapest country, due to a new offer by operator 3. Denmark and Finland also remained cheap for this combination (resp. EUR 21 and EUR 25), and the UK joined the group of low-cost countries, with a median price of EUR 23 per month.
More and more data
With the rising penetration of smartphones and 4G networks, data has become more important in the operators’ propositions in all European countries. In most countries there was an increase in the share of plans offering more than 2GB per month, while at the same time a decline in the number of countries where consumers can buy a plan without data. Ireland showed the biggest growth, with 63 percent of plans offering more than 10 GB of data compared to just 28 percent in Q1 2016.
Furthermore, several countries now have unlimited data plans. Finland already showed most plans as unlimited in Q1 2016, and there were some on offer then in Ireland and Switzerland, but in Q1 2017 we also find plans with unlimited data in the Netherlands and Germany. Telecompaper expects this trend to continue, with operators such as Tele2, T-Mobile and Free already introducing unlimited plans in recent months. This could help offset the downward trend in prices, as consumers are encouraged to migrate to the higher-priced unlimited plans, the market researcher said.
The research also shows an increasing number of operators including (some) free roaming in the EU, ahead of the implementation of the EU roam-like–home regulation from mid-June 2017. Over a third (33%) of plans included EU usage/roaming, up from 22 percent in Q1 2016.
