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Prices of mobile communication services

The monitoring of prices for mobile communication services is based on a methodology defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The starting point of the method consists in defining three baskets designed to reflect the consumption habits of three different user profiles (small, medium and large consumers). The next step is to identify the least expensive formula proposed by each of the operators in question on the market to satisfy the needs reflected in the basket. By calculating the cost of each basket on a monthly basis, it is implicitly possible to understand the level of prices charged. The field of investigation and the limits of the method are presented in more detail at the end of this section.

In order to understand the price of mobile communication services, the following three consumption baskets have been defined:

  • A small basket allowing 30 phone calls to fixed or mobile networks, 10 SMS and 500 Mbit of data consumption per month.
  • An average basket allowing 100 telephone calls to fixed or mobile networks, 20 SMS and 2 Gbit of data consumption per month.
  • A large basket allowing unlimited phone calls to fixed or mobile networks, an unlimited number of SMS and 20 Gbit of data consumption per month.

Low user basket

This first table presents, for the years 2022 and 2023, the most attractive offers provided on the Swiss market by the mobile communication service providers selected for the analysis. In 2023, we can see that M-Budget proposes the most competitive price for a small consumer with a subscription at a price of CHF 12.00 per month. At the other end of the scale is Swisscom, which requires a prepayment of CHF 23.00 for the same profile, which represents an additional 91.7 %.

Cheapest offers per operator for a low user basket, in CHF per month, August
Years Providers Offers Prices Access type Baskets
2022 Yallo Yallo Slim Plus 10.6 Postpaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2022 M-Budget M-Budget Prepaid 12.0 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2022 Sunrise Sunrise Prepaid Budget 15 15.6 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2022 Swisscom inOne Prepaid 18.4 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2022 Salt Prepay 24.3 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 M-Budget M-Budget Prepaid 12.0 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Yallo Yallo Prepaid - All in 7.5 12.2 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Salt Prepay 15.3 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Sunrise Sunrise Prepaid Budget 15 15.6 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Swisscom Prepaid Basic Rate 23.0 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
Source: Results from Teligen/OECD Mobile Voice and Data Price Benchmarking system. Copyright Tech Insights, UK, https://www.techinsights.com/,
Method: https://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=DSTI/CDEP/CISP(2017)4/FINAL&docLanguage=En

The table below provides a price comparison between the 36 considered OECD member countries for the year 2023. It can be seen that Switzerland, with its cheapest offer, ranks 28th in the ranking. There are therefore 27 countries in which the user with small needs has a more attractive offer.

Cheapest offer per country for a low user basket, in CHF per month, August
Years Countries Providers Prices Access type Baskets
2023 Colombia Movistar 3.5 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Poland Orange 4.6 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Sweden Tele 2 4.9 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Slovenia A1 4.9 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Estonia Telia 4.9 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 France SFR 5.0 Postpaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Germany T-Mobile 5.5 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Lithuania Tele2 5.6 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Chile Entel Movil 5.6 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Luxembourg POST 5.7 Postpaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Hungary T-Mobile 6.3 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Portugal MEO 7.2 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Czech Rep. O2 8.0 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Australia Optus 8.1 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 New Zealand One New Zealand 8.1 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Slovak Rep. Slovak Telekom 8.2 Postpaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Latvia LMT 8.3 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Mexico MoviStar 8.5 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Netherlands Vodafone 8.8 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Israel Partner 9.4 Postpaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Finland Telia 9.5 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Spain MoviStar 9.6 Postpaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Greece Cosmote 10.4 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Austria A1 Telekom Austria 10.5 Postpaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Belgium Orange 11.1 Postpaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 UK O2 11.2 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Japan NTT DoCoMo 11.7 Postpaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Switzerland M-Budget 12.0 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Ireland Vodafone 12.1 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Italy Vodafone 12.5 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Iceland Nova 13.6 Postpaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Korea KT 14.3 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Norway Telia 18.3 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Canada Rogers 18.7 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 Denmark Telenor 19.4 Postpaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
2023 USA AT&T 27.9 Prepaid 30 voice calls, 500 Mbit data
Source: Results from Teligen/OECD Mobile Voice and Data Price Benchmarking system. Copyright Tech Insights, UK, https://www.techinsights.com/,
Method: https://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=DSTI/CDEP/CISP(2017)4/FINAL&docLanguage=En

Medium user basket

The table below shows the cheapest offers proposed on the Swiss market in 2022 and 2023 by the considered service providers. In 2023, a user who wishes to satisfy the needs of a so-called medium consumer must pay a monthly charge of CHF 14.00 to M-Budget. At the other end of the scale, Swisscom's monthly price is 185 % higher, at CHF 39.90. In 2023, Swisscom is clearly the most expensive operator.

Cheapest offers per operator for a medium user basket, in CHF per month, August
Years Providers Offers Prices Access type Baskets
2022 M-Budget M-Budget Mini 20.1 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2022 Salt Start Max 5G 24.9 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2022 Yallo Yallo Swiss Flat 25.6 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2022 Sunrise Up Mobile S 5G 33.1 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2022 Swisscom inOne Mobile Prepaid Go 45.5 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 M-Budget M-Budget Mini 14.0 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Yallo Yallo Regular Plus 19.5 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Salt Start Max 5G 24.9 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Sunrise Up Mobile S 5G 34.0 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Swisscom Basic Mobile S 5G 39.9 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
Source: Results from Teligen/OECD Mobile Voice and Data Price Benchmarking system. Copyright Tech Insights, UK, https://www.techinsights.com/,
Method: https://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=DSTI/CDEP/CISP(2017)4/FINAL&docLanguage=En

The international comparison made here for the OECD countries in 2023 shows that Switzerland, when considering its cheapest offer for a medium user basket, ranks 23th in the ranking. #13 countries have higher prices.

Cheapest offer per country for a medium user basket, in CHF per month, August
Years Countries Providers Prices Access type Baskets
2023 Colombia Movistar 3.5 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 France SFR 5.0 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Poland Orange 5.4 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Lithuania Tele2 5.6 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Chile Entel Movil 6.2 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Estonia Elisa 6.3 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Slovenia A1 6.8 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Luxembourg POST 7.6 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Sweden Tele 2 7.7 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Germany T-Mobile 8.0 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Australia Optus 8.1 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Portugal MEO 8.2 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Mexico MoviStar 8.6 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Israel Partner 9.4 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Spain MoviStar 9.6 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Austria Magenta 10.5 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Greece Vodafone 10.6 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 UK O2 11.2 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Italy Vodafone 12.6 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 New Zealand One New Zealand 13.4 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Iceland Nova 13.6 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Latvia Tele2 13.9 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Switzerland M-Budget 14.0 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Slovak Rep. Slovak Telekom 15.3 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Hungary T-Mobile 15.5 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Ireland Three 15.6 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Netherlands Vodafone 17.3 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Korea SK Telecom 17.7 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Belgium Proximus 18.7 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Finland Telia 19.2 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Denmark Telenor 19.4 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Japan NTT DoCoMo 21.1 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Norway Telia 21.9 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Czech Rep. T-Mobile 23.3 Postpaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 Canada Rogers 25.0 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
2023 USA AT&T 27.9 Prepaid 100 voice calls, 2 Gbit data
Source: Results from Teligen/OECD Mobile Voice and Data Price Benchmarking system. Copyright Tech Insights, UK, https://www.techinsights.com/,
Method: https://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=DSTI/CDEP/CISP(2017)4/FINAL&docLanguage=En

High user basket

Below are the most interesting offers proposed in Switzerland by the operators included in the analysis in the years 2022 and 2023. In 2023, CHF 31.10 separates the cheapest offer (19.50 for Yallo) from the most expensive offer (50.60 for Swisscom), which is 159.5 % more.

Cheapest offers per operator for a high user basket, in CHF per month, August
Years Providers Offers Prices Access type Baskets
2022 Yallo Yallo Swiss Flat 25.6 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2022 Salt Smart 5G 36.9 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2022 M-Budget M-Budget Maxi 40.4 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2022 Sunrise Sunrise Prepaid Unlimited 90 days 40.6 Prepaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2022 Swisscom inOne Prepaid 50.6 Prepaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Yallo Yallo Regular Plus 19.5 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Sunrise Sunrise Prepaid Unlimited 90 days 40.6 Prepaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 M-Budget M-Budget Giga 40.7 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Salt Swiss Max 5G 43.6 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Swisscom Prepaid Basic Rate 50.6 Prepaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
Source: Results from Teligen/OECD Mobile Voice and Data Price Benchmarking system. Copyright Tech Insights, UK, https://www.techinsights.com/,
Method: https://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=DSTI/CDEP/CISP(2017)4/FINAL&docLanguage=En

The international comparison established for the year 2023 places our country in the middle of the ranking, since it occupies the 14th place out of the 33 OECD countries considered.

Cheapest offer per country for a high user basket, in CHF per month, August
Years Countries Providers Prices Access type Baskets
2023 Colombia Movistar 3.5 Prepaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Poland Orange 7.6 Prepaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Spain MoviStar 9.6 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 France SFR 9.8 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Slovenia A1 13.7 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Australia Telstra 14.3 Prepaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Lithuania Tele2 14.4 Prepaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Italy Vodafone 14.6 Prepaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 UK O2 16.7 Prepaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Sweden Tele 2 18.3 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Iceland Nova 18.3 Prepaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Latvia LMT 18.7 Prepaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Denmark Telenor 19.4 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Switzerland Yallo 19.5 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Belgium Orange 19.8 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Austria A1 Telekom Austria 20.1 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Estonia Telia 21.5 Prepaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Mexico MoviStar 21.8 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Finland Telia 21.8 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Korea SK Telecom 28.0 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Netherlands KPN 28.1 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Germany O2 30.1 Prepaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Ireland Vodafone 30.4 Prepaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Slovak Rep. Orange 32.6 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Canada Bell Mobility 35.0 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Hungary T-Mobile 37.2 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Czech Rep. O2 37.8 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Portugal MEO 38.9 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Norway Telia 38.9 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 New Zealand Spark 40.0 Prepaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 USA AT&T 52.5 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Luxembourg POST 62.8 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
2023 Greece Vodafone 64.7 Postpaid unlimited voice, 20 Gbit data
Source: Results from Teligen/OECD Mobile Voice and Data Price Benchmarking system. Copyright Tech Insights, UK, https://www.techinsights.com/,
Method: https://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=DSTI/CDEP/CISP(2017)4/FINAL&docLanguage=En

Method implemented : field of investigation and limitations

  • The providers under consideration correspond to mobile communication service operators (Swisscom, Sunrise and Salt) and certain resellers active on the market during the period under review. In terms of users, they represent more than 80% of the market.
  • The period under consideration corresponds to the 31 days of August of the year under review.
  • The products examined correspond to all the offers proposed by the selected providers and to which a new customer can subscribe during the analysis period.
  • The price of the cheapest product from certain providers might be significantly higher than that of their competitors. We then consider this product inappropriate for the consumption profile because it requires, in order to stick to the definition of the basket, the purchase of a multitude of additional options making its price explode. If this is the case, the cheapest product from these suppliers is not presented in the results. A note is added under the table showing this eviction.
  • Discounts are included in the calculation of the cost of each basket. The discounts included are:
    • Promotional discounts on the monthly rental and/or activation charges. Promotional offers must be available for at least one month and be valid at the time of data collection.
    • Off-peak discounts on calls and messages.
    • Selective discounts to specific or selected phone numbers.
    • Usage discounts in the form of traffic included or minutes of usage included.
  • The analysis focuses only on the cheapest product by provider, with the objective of minimizing the user's expenditure on their usage profile.
  • The cost of the SIM card is amortized over 36 months.
  • The acquisition cost of the device is not considered.
  • Offers negotiated on a case-by-case basis and special offers aimed at a specific population category (young people, students, companies, etc.) are not taken into account.
  • Transmission speeds are not included in the definition of the profiles and therefore not considered in the analysis.
  • International roaming services are not considered.
  • Aspects such as network quality, quality of customer service, customer loyalty measures or transaction costs are not considered.
  • Finally, it should be noted that the basket methodology is more intended to provide an overview of the prices charged at a given time than to provide information on their evolution over time. Since the offers considered vary over time, the changes observed from one year to the next are more like a trend. For temporal analyses, the results of the consumer price index of the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) should be used.

Dokumentation (XLSX, 27 kB, 31.01.2024)

Specialist staff
Last modification 09.02.2022

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