From: diessel@informatik.unibw-muenchen.de (Thomas Diessel)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Phones in Germany
Date: 13 Aug 92 02:48:27 GMT
Organization: TELECOM Digest
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 622, Message 2 of 4

Christopher Lott AGSE <lott@informatik.uni-kl.de> writes:

> We recently moved to Germany and I thought US readers might be
> interested in an American's perspective of starting phone service in

I would like to make some comments on Chris' interesting summary.
>Germany.  "Telekom" runs the phones.  Telekom was fairly recently
>separated from the Post office but it's still a gummint agency.
The German mail (Deutsche Bundespost) was divided into three parts:

 - Postdienst (mail)
 - Postbank (savings)
 - Telekom (telco)

> All costs are in D-Mark; conversions are based on the exchange rate of
> US$ 1 = DM 1.50 to make the math easy (actual rate 1.477 or so).
> Installation cost 65(US 43) and it doesn't matter if they run wire or
> not.  They require no deposit in advance.

> We placed the order in person at the phone store, and three weeks

You mean "Telekom Laden", a shop of the Telekom.

> later a fella arrived with our phone.  This was apparently fairly
> quick.  Seems that Telekom doesn't send their own people out to do
> installations but subcontracts it out.  The weak (slow) link in the
> chain appears to be the subcontractors; I'm told that Telekom is quick
> with service changes.

> You are allowed to own your own phone, although it's supposed to be a
> model that's approved by Telekom.  Phones cost a minimum of 80 (US 53)

Phones are now approved by a federal office called "Bundesamt fuer
Zulassungen im Telekommunikationswesen" or so (BZT). But that will change
again with the common market next year.

> in cheap stores, a minimum of about 100 (US 67) at the phone store.  We
> chose to rent ours from Telekom for about 3.50 (US 2.33) per month.
> Our phone does touch-tone and stores the last number dialed; i.e.,
> it's the basic 100-Mark model.

> Judging from our first bill, monthly service is about 52 (US 35).

There is a basic fee of 24,60 DM ($ 16,40) plus 0,23 DM ($ 0,15) for each
message unit.

> They make no distinction between touch-tone and pulse dialing, as far
> as I know.  Our phone had to be told to send tone, and the switch
> understands it fine, but I don't think that I requested it specially.

> The monthly service includes 15 message units.  Additional message
> units cost about DM0.23 (US 0.15).  Now a brief digression to explain
> message units as understood by Telekom: Every call is metered.  Local
> calls cost one message unit for every six minutes during the day
> (6a-6p) and 12 minutes at night.  Long-distance works by varying the

Only Monday to Friday 6a-6p 6 minutes otherwise 12 minutes. There are
also some "long-distance" calls (dialing 0 first = LD) at that rate.
At least to the neighnour NPAs. But we don't have intra-NPA long
distance calls (that was a strange experience for me in the States).

> length of time you get for one unit.  Domestic long distance is also
> discounted 50% at night, but international calls cost the same 24
> hours per day.  Ferinstance, when I call other cities during the day,
> a unit gets me about 30 seconds to one minute, and I assume double
> that at night.  When calling the USA, a message unit lasts 6.67
> seconds; this works out to almost exactly DM 2 (US 1.30) per minute at
> all times.  As was posted here previously, Telekom recently increased
> the time from 4 to 6.67 sec, possibly in response to heavy competition
> from USA Direct etc.

> Information costs the same as a local call (i.e., no extra charge
> beyond the time) and will give you a number anywhere in Germany.  Oh,
> I almost forgot!  There doesn't seem to be an operator here!  I had

Basically right, but there is long distance operator at 010 (I never
used it).

> That's about all I can think of.  Hope this interests some people.

At least me!


Thomas Diessel
Federal Armed Forces University, Munich  -  Computer Science Department
Werner-Heisenberg-Weg 39  -  W-8014 Neubiberg  Germany