Best Cell Phone Providers in Hamburg
Finding the best cell phone provider in Hamburg might sound like a difficult task with all the different choices there are.
But with our help we will make sure that you find the German cell phone provider that best suits your personal situation and needs.
That being said there are some important questions you need to ask yourself first before you can choose the right phone provider.
Do you want to sign up for a 24 months contract?
Do you need a new phone with your contract?
Are you using your cell phone mostly for calls or for mobile internet?
With all these questions in mind we will tell you about your choices you have here in Germany and point out the best German cell phone providers to you.
24 Months Cell Phone Contracts
Signing up with a cell phone provider for 24 months sounds a bit frightening in the beginning, but it usually is the better choice than going for a prepaid SIM card.
Unless you only plan to stay in Germany or Hamburg for just a couple of weeks we always advise you to go for a contract.
Most 24 months contracts have a monthly fee around 20€ to 40€ depending on if it includes an all-net flatrate and/or a new cell phone.
In general it is a very good idea to go for the all-net flatrate as there is not one dominant phone provider in Germany.
So if you go for the cheaper option, which is a flatrate only in the same network as your own cell phone provider, you will have to pay a lot for each call outside your own network.
Cell Phone Contracts including Smartphone
Most of the time it is the better choice to get a German cell phone contract which includes a new smartphone.
Especially if you are interested in one of the high end smartphones like an iPhone or the newest Samsung Galaxy you will save a lot of money choosing a contract which includes a new smartphone.
If you do not care so much about the newest model it might be a good idea to get a cheap all-net flatrate and buy your smartphone seperately.
But in general we think the best way to do it is to get a smartphone with your cell phone contract.
Mobile Internet with enough Data
Therefore it is also very important to choose a cell phone contract that includes enough mobile data for all your needs.
Nowadays it seems more important to have fast mobile internet than having a good reception when calling from your smartphone.
The fastet way to be online on the go is to get a contract including LTE. But most German cell phone providers charge extra for LTE coverage.
The cheaper alternative is to get a contract with UMTS which usually offers enough speed for most users.
Biggest German Cell Phone Providers
There are 3 major cell phone providers right now in Germany, namely Deutsche Telekom, o2 and Vodafone.
These 3 companies each have their own mobile network.
While Deutsche Telekom offers the widest network coverage also in more rural areas o2 is more known for lesser network coverage but cheaper cell phone plans.
Vodafone is somehow in the middle, offering good network coverage and being cheaper than Deutsche Telekom.
Besides these 3 big players there are also a lot of smaller cell phone providers in Germany that offer very good deals and use the network of one of the 3 big companies.
The most famous right now is 1&1 which is also our favorite pick at the moment. Keep reading to find out why.
Overview & Comparison
1&1 Internet
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Right now if you would ask us which cell phone provider in Hamburg you should sign up with, we would advise you to go with 1&1.
1&1 recently won the title of having the best network coverage in Germany.
What they actually offer is contracts that switch between the Telekom network and o2 network, depending which one has the better reception at the moment.
Furthermore 1&1 offers very good deals right now which include a new smartphone, a flatrate for all German cell phone networks and land-line, plus very fast mobile internet with up to 50 MBit/s if you choose a contract including LTE.
If you still have many friends abroad or if you travel a lot and want to use your phone there as well 1&1 offers a fantastic contract that includes a flatrate for 38 countries to do so without costs for roaming.
If this sounds like what you are looking for head over to the 1&1 Website* and check out the cell phone plan that suits you best.
If you are interested in the flatrate for abroad make sure the contract contains the “Flat Ausland” option.
Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom is our second favorite German cell phone provider right now.
For the last couple of years it was Deutsche Telekom who won all prizes for the best network coverage (instead of 1&1 this year).
Furthermore Deutsche Telekom usually offers the fastest mobile internet in Germany.
Right now they offer in some areas they cover LTE with up to 300 MBit/s. That sounds like a hell of a lot to me.
I think I have never seen anything faster than 50 MBit/s before. Not even at home with a DSL connection.
Right now most of the cell phone contracts offered by Deutsche Telekom include a free 3 months trial of Spotify, so if you want to listen to music while on the go this is a very nice add-on.
Don’t forget to cancel this option if you do not want to pay for it after the free trial.
With Deutsche Telekom you have the choice if you want to sign up for a contract including a new smartphone or if you do not need one.
In our opinion Deutsche Telekom only makes sense if you need a new smartphone, otherwise the contracts are way too expensive.
If you are travelling inside of Germany for work or leisure and you need to have a good cell phone coverage we strongly advise you to sign up with Deutsche Telekom.
Believe us nothing is more frustrating than sitting in a train and being cut off the internet just because you chose the wrong cell phone provider.
Check out the Deutsche Telekom website for all their deals for mobile contracts.
Other Cell Phone Providers in Hamburg
As mentioned before the other big German cell phone providers are Vodafone and o2. You might be asking yourself why we do not mention them above.
Well right now we really think that the best deals in Germany can be found either when signing up with 1&1 or with Deutsche Telekom.
Vodafone offers from time to time very nice deals including a new smartphone in one of their RED plans.
o2 also has nice deals sometimes but the downside with o2 is that in more rural areas the reception is very weak. If you can live with that then o2 is also a nice alternative to 1&1.
Now that you sorted out your cell phone contract in Hamburg it might be time to enjoy yourself.
If you are into good burgers why don’t you keep reading about the best burgers in Hamburg?
If you are more into party why don’t you check out our best bars in Hamburg section?
*Since I love to keep my website as up-to-date as possible for you awesome readers, my content may contain affiliate links. All the links in this post marked with ‘*’ are such affiliate links. Even though I might receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you, all opinions on my website remain my own.