Mobile prices turn lower in most of West Europe in Q1

Houten, The Netherlands, 30 April 2015 – The total cost of a mobile plan including a top smartphone showed a general decline in most countries in Western Europe in Q1 2015, according to the latest Telecompaper benchmark report. In the latest survey, based on prices advertised in Q1 2015 in 16 countries, prices trended lower in most countries compared to six months previously, both for plans including a high-end handset and for SIM-only plans.

The semi-annual report compares mobile price plans based on the total cost of ownership (TCO): the monthly price, with or without a handset, as well as any extra fees or promotions. The data covers all the major mobile network operators, including many of their low-cost, sub-brands, in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK – together the TP16. In total, more than 3,200 plans were on offer in Q1, about 18% less than during the previous survey in Q3 2014.

The research found that mobile plans are coming with ever-larger bundles. For example, around 36% of all SIM-only plans had 1,000+ or unlimited minutes each month, up from 27% in Q3 2014. Data bundles are growing as well, especially in Austria, Denmark, Germany, France and Ireland, where there was a strong increase in plans with more than 2GB of monthly data. Across all 16 countries, 34% of the SIM-only plans had more than 2GB. The share of plans with less than 1GB of data per month is decreasing gradually, reaching 38% of SIM-only plans in the latest period.

Overall, median TCO prices went down compared to six months ago in most countries, both for plans including a high-end handset and in several countries for SIM-only plans. The drop in prices for plans with a top smartphone was due in part to the phone chosen – the Samsung Galaxy S5 was the high-end phone used in both surveys. By Q1 2015, its price was starting to fall ahead of the spring launch of the S6.

Looking at the various countries, Scandinavia, Austria, France and the UK remained cheapest for mobile communications compared to the other countries surveyed, and Greece and Portugal still had the most expensive prices. Belgium and Switzerland became more expensive, while the Netherlands dropped in price and now ranks among the cheaper countries (comparing plans with high-end phone). The remaining countries – Germany, Spain, Ireland and Italy – displayed a mixed performance, with prices sometimes cheap or expensive, depending on the type of plan.

The range in prices remains wide in Europe. For example, SIM-only plans with a large bundle (1,000+ minutes, 2,000+ MB) varied greatly in price (monthly TCO) across the TP16. During the period researched, prices ranged from a median EUR 19 per month in Denmark to EUR 101 per month in Greece. In the Netherlands, the median price for this type of plan was EUR 36, just EUR 2 below the median of the 16 countries.

For SIM-only plans, in many cases the median prices fell compared to the previous report, although not in all the countries. In Portugal, Switzerland and Sweden, median TCO prices increased more than 5%. The reasons for this include more variations in expensive plans, higher monthly fees when opting for a shorter term contract or general increases in monthly fees.