You’ve found your new home, and now it’s time to get connected (along with a few other tasks). To have a fixed-line telephone installed in Germany, there are two basic options.

1. You can go down to one of the local Telekom customer service centers, called “T-Punkt,” which Telekom has established in most larger cities, and fill out the necessary forms (in German). The installation charge is 59.95 euros for a new connection. If you are taking over a connection from a previous resident there is no fee. And in many cases, Telekom also offers free installation if you agree to sign up for two years and don’t buy the cheapest package. You can either buy your phone from Telekom or buy one yourself (from a local electronics store such as MediaMarkt, Saturn, etc.).
   

2. 2. You can order your telephone service through one of the many private competitors - such as 1&1, Arcor, Alice or Freenet. Because Telekom still enjoys a monopoly on the so-called “last mile” of telecommunications service, these private resellers basically offer the same products as Telekom but sometimes at slightly better rates or with additional services. In addition, some of these providers offer bundled ISDN-DSL connections. But beware, if you opt for a bundled line through a reseller then you will not be able to use “call-by-call” services from any other company. If price isn’t an issue for you, you may want to go with Deutsche Telekom. If it is, it may be worth your time to shop around for a better deal with one of the other providers.

The basic monthly rates for a fixed line in Germany (provided by Deutsche Telekom) start at 16,37 euros for a plain analogue line (T-Net) and 24,57 euros for an ISDN digital line. ISDN offers a variety of convenient telephone features, such as a built-in answering machine and call diverting. Using the built-in answering machine, you can save a personal message and pick up your messages while you’re away. You can also receive faxes that can later be diverted to the fax machine of your choice. Finally, you can have your answering machine call you when you get a call. It sounds complicated, but once it’s up and running, such a system can be a real convenience.

Many providers also offer a flat-rate service for calls to fixed lines in Germany, but be aware these flat rates don’t cover calls to cellular phones, international calls or to special service numbers (starting with 0180) that are so popular with many Germany companies such as Lufthansa, Deutsche Bahn, etc… You will also not be able to use call-by-call services.

Ordering your phone can be a quick process, if you know what you want. The most popular types of lines are standard analogue lines, ISDN lines or DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) lines. ISDN is not a bad idea if several people will be calling from the same line and you’d like to separate your bills. With an ISDN line, you are assigned several different numbers and can set up a fax, a kid’s line, a home phone and a dedicated business phone. DSL tends to be bundled with other services, using the pitch: “For just 5 euros more, you can get an Internet flat-rate with your DSL line.” For the techies out there, this is called the “double play” (telephone & Internet connection), “triple play” (phone, Internet & flat rate) or “quadruple play” (phone, Internet, flat rate & cell phone service).

By far, the most popular choice to connect to the Internet in Germany is through a DSL line. Telekom offers several packages for phone and Internet, each one consisting of slightly different services. For 29,95 euros per month, the "Call & Surf Basic" package offers an Internet flat-rate with a connection speed of 2000 kbits. For 39,95 euros per month the "Call & Surf Comfort" packages provides flat-rates for phoning and Internet with a connection speed of 6000 kbits. For 49,95 euros per month you can even have a connection speed of 16,000 kbits.

If you want to buy the fastest package, first check to see whether it is available in your street. Again, private resellers (such as 1&1 or Arcor) offer slightly better rates than the Telekom for Internet access. And remember to shop around before you sign up because many providers will waive initial set-up fees and throw in a free modem, router or wireless LAN. You might want to check two German-language consumer-oriented websites www.teltarif.de or www.billiger-telefonieren.de for more information.

If your home is wired for cable, you can connect to the Internet through a cable modem, and set up a land line using your region’s cable provider. For many parts of Germany, the cable provider is unitymedia (Tel: 01803 – 88 88 35 or www.unitymedia.de.) For all three services together, prices start at 35 euros per month. Before you sign up for this service, be sure to check with your landlord or Hausmeister to make sure that the building in which you live supports this service. Many older buildings from the 1950s and 1960s are wired for cable, but do not have the required infrastructure for unitymedia's products.

If you can do without Internet access at home (or if you home is wired for cable), you might want to think about getting a flat rate for your cell phone and not getting a fixed line at all. For a monthly flat rate, you can call as much as you like into the German fixed line network and the cell phone network of the provider. Prices start at about 30 euros per month, with this service being offered by several providers (including www.base.de, www.T-mobile.de and www.vodafone.de).

With all these options, make sure that you get all of your contracts in writing and read the fine print. And refrain from signing up for any services at a shopping mall or over the telephone. They will undoubtedly get your order wrong!

Here is an overview of the major providers:

Mobile Phone Services

e-Plus	0800 / 100 64 32	www.eplus.de
O2	0800 / 22 111 22	www.o2online.de
T-Mobile	0800 / 33 55 222	www.t-mobile.de
Vodafone	0800 - 172 12 12	www.vodafone.de
Ortel	01805 - 01 0446	www.ortelmobile.de

Telecom Providers

1&1	0800 - 8080890	www.1und1.de
Alice	0800 - 411 0 411	www.alice-dsl.de
Arcor	0800 - 10710220	www.arcor.de
Deutsche Telekom	0800 - 33 05500	www.t-home.de
Freenet	0800 - 3030660	www.freenet.de
TKS	01804 - 857 76 27	www.tkscable.com

Energy

E.ON Energie	0180 - 13 26 000	www.eon-energie.com
Mainova	0180 - 11 888 11	www.mainova.de
Yello Strom	0800 - 19 000 19	www.yellostrom.de

Cable TV

unitymedia

01803 - 88 88 33

www.unitymedia.de

Postal Services

Deutsche Post	01802 - 33 33	www.deutschepost.de
DHL	0800 - 22 553 45	www.dhl.de
Fedex	0800 - 12 30 800	www.fedex.com/de
Hermes	040 - 537550	www.hermes-logistik-gruppe.de
UPS	0800 - 88 266 30	www.ups.de
TNT	01805 - 900900	www.tnt.de

Call-by-Call Telephone Services

Provider	Pre-dial Code
Arcor	01070	www.arcor.de
01051 Telecom	01051	www.01051.com
BT Germany	01090	www.01090.com
Freenet	01019	www.freenetphone.de
OneTel	01086	www.one-tel.de