The European Commission published data from the Mobile Broadband Prices in Europe 2018 study, which compared the prices of available mobile carrier plans in all twenty-eight countries of the European Union.
The comparison revealed that Czech mobile operators belong to the most expensive mobile service providers in the EU. The data for mobile carrier plans were collected in February of last year, as well as the statistics for cellular data plans that following June, with the purpose of comparing the total costs of specific mobile carrier plans in each EU country.
The study included prices for data plans ranging from 256 MB to 20 GB, as well as basic cellular plans with 30 calls, 100 SMS and 100 MB, and the largest plans with 100 calls, 140 SMS and 5 GB. The value analysis of the different cellular carrier plans when calculated in the national currency of each country, showed the vast differences within the range of consumer prices.
The results? Italy, Poland, Romania, France, UK, Luxemburg and Finland have the lowest prices. For example, a basic cellular plan with 30 calls, 100 SMS and 100 MB in France takes the place for the lowest price at 4,10 Euros which is three times less than the EU average of 12,20 Euros. Italy takes the lead with the lowest prices for the most abundant carrier plans including 100 calls, 140 SMS and 5 GB for only 7,08 Euros whilst the EU average is almost four times more at 24,48 Euros.
On the other hand, the countries that fall into the category for the most expensive carrier plans not only include the above mentioned Czech Republic but Malta, Finland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Ireland, and Slovakia as well. One of the most popular cellular data plan in the Czech Republic, according to Czech mobile operators, is 1GB of data. The plan has prices ranging from 8 to 58 Euros throughout the EU countries. The average is 22 euros.
However, Czechs and Slovaks pay twice as much. According to the data, Czech citizens are paying 50% more for their cellular data when compared to the EU average. The largest price gap between the cost of a 20 GB data plan which totals at 56,60 Euros in the Czech Republic while the EU average is 27,76. That’s a whopping 31,84 Euro difference.
Unfortunately, no mobile cellular carrier plans in the Czech Republic were found to be less expensive than the EU average.
Author: V. B.
