Mobile companies join unlimited data race
Mobile data seem to be evolving into an essential commodity after the months of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, but mainly because the daily routine of an increasing number of households now centers around smartphones.
Both during the lockdown and after, telecommunication service providers offered users free talktime, SMS and data usage. According to market professionals, these offers, users’ familiarization with them, and mainly the demand for lower mobile charges – that are far above the eurozone average – have led service providers to introduce even more attractive programs.
Industry officials say the swing toward the supply of unlimited mobile data will soon become even greater, as investments in new networks proceed. The gradual advent of the next generation of mobile networks (5G) in the coming years is expected to increase both the volume and the speed of data.
Last Saturday, Cosmote released its “Gigamax Unlimited” program with unlimited mobile data, while the talktime and SMS usage offered increase according to the value of the contract. The cellphone company, Greece’s market leader, also offers programs with parameters that the subscriber adjusts, with users choosing talktime, data volume etc at monthly charges starting from 25 euros. Cosmote says the comparative advantage of its packages is that there is no limit imposed on data speed after a certain level of monthly use.
About a month ago, rival Vodafone presented its own triple package of programs that in terms of data usage can be adapted to the habits of each individual subscriber. However, there is a speed limit on its Giga Unlimited Ultra program, which costs €69.90 per month and offers unlimited talktime, SMS and data usage (including roaming across the European Union), and is addressed to those who often download files or call other EU countries.
The third player in the domestic cellphone market, Wind Hellas, has introduced the W Unlimited GB program, which after the consumption of 15 GB at full speed within Greece per month sees its speed drop by up to 384 Kbps.
Notably, all programs are binding for two years, while contract prices tend to be up to 30% lower compared to the official rates the providers publish.
