CeBIT Home: new mobile network “Citypartner” from 1 October 1998
Summary
On 1 October 1998, VIAG Interkom launched the mobile service “Citypartner” as Germany’s fourth network operator. The network initially covered eight metropolitan areas with about 45 percent of the population; elsewhere the D1, D2 and E-Plus networks helped out through an agreement with Swisscom. The special feature was the city tariff: in a chosen city, calls to the local network there cost 29 pfennigs a minute all day.
Ideas
- A new network operator makes up for missing coverage through roaming in other networks.
- A location-based tariff turned the mobile phone into a competitor of the landline.
- Incoming calls remained free even in other networks.
- Fax and data services were sold as paid add-ons.
Insights
- New entrants in mobile communications first compete on tariff models, because they still lack network coverage.
- National roaming is a bridge that users pay for through higher prices.
Facts
- Calls cost 99 pfennigs a minute at peak times and 29 pfennigs off-peak.
- Outside the operator’s own network, 1.99 DM (peak) or 0.99 DM (off-peak) per minute applied.
- The monthly fee was 24.95 DM with a minimum term of three months.
References
Critique
- The report does not compare the tariffs with those of the established networks and leaves open when the rollout was to go beyond the metropolitan areas.
Remarks
- VIAG Interkom later became O2 and merged with E-Plus in 2014.
Recommendations
- With mobile offers, check the actual coverage at your own locations, not just the tariff.
- With roaming solutions, take the additional costs outside the home network into account.
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