I recently visited Spain and I went to buy a SIM-card. Roaming is a thing of the past but my measly 6 GB from Proximus are easily consumed in a few days when I’m on holiday. So I always buy local SIM-cards.
Anyway, I was shocked but not surprised by the local mobile internet prices. Just compare those prices with ours.
In Spain, the first mobile operator store I walked into, I found a prepaid deal: 20 euros for 35 GB (and unlimited national calls for 30 days). That’s 0,57 euro per GB!
Edit: I just checked Italy. 19,99 euro subscription for 100 GB. 0,2 euro per GB…
Here in Belgium the cheapest deal I could find for Proximus: 36,99 euro for 15 GB subscription. That is 2,47 euro per GB!
At Base I found a 29 euro for 16 GB subscription, also with unlimited calls. But this still is 1,81 euro per GB. No possibility to top up if you use those 16 GB within the month.
At Mobile Vikings the best deal for data seems to be 20 euro for 10 GB (also unlimited calls) which is still 2 euro per GB.
Why are we always getting so fucked by our telecom operators? Are there any other deals available in Belgium that I am missing? Is there anything we can do about this? Politicians we can write?
I’m sure Spain isn’t even the cheapest country in Europe for mobile data.
*I left out the ‘unlimited data’ subscriptions because they all have a FUP and aren’t really unlimited, it’s more marketing than real unlimited data.
**Some people will probably say ”who needs more than X GB per Y amount of time” well, I spend a lot of time on public transport and I easily pass my 6 GB cap the 15th of the month if I’m not careful.
The average annual income in Spain is around €27,000, which is lower than many other EU countries. However, Spain also has a lower cost of living than most of its western European neighbors. A full-time worker may take 22 working days (30 calendar days) of paid holiday time annually.11 Aug 2021
In 2007, a person in Belgium on average had a salary of 2,837 euros per month. By 2018, employees on average earned just over 3,600 euros monthly (43k annually). This was significantly higher than the average salary in neighboring country the Netherlands, where the average monthly salary reached 2,474 euros in 2018.
Tl;dr: Cost of living is different in different nations. They make 60% of what we do annually.
It’s still not the Spanish prices, but at Mobile Vikings you can get extra data and a reduction on your phone bill pretty easily with their loyalty programs. At least it’s better than not doing anything.
In Belgium is a clear CARTELLO from this company that not even try to do any concurrency each other, politic is in the balcony to watch, it is a shame this situation is like Belgium isn’t in Europe.
if you have all telenet products, u can get a one bundle where its about €20 per sim card, with unlimited voice and sms, and 40 GB per sim card (shared, so if you get 5 sim cards in your bundle, you can use 200GB of data)
not saying telenet is the cheapest, far from it, but you get value for your money.
Here I am, paying 9 euros for 250 MB… And I actually never really had an issue until I used waze last week. All gone for 1 drive gg
My gut feeling says that lack of real competition among our service providers is the cause of poor quality and high price.
You’ll be even sadder when you look at Polish Mobile Vikings prices.
Fun fact, I’m still banned from the Mobile Vikings Twitter page before I dared to ask them when we would have proper mobile internet prices with this image attached that I found on Reddit:
Genuine question: what is to stop the average Belgian from getting a French of Italian Sim card for the cheap data?
Obviously one downside would be that you’d have a foreign phone number, but why not get a dual Sim phone, and one cheap cellular subscription for a Belgian phone number, and the Italian/French/Spanish sim card for data?
Am I missing something here?
I pay 32euro for unlimited internet/sms/calls in Switzerland (swiss abo) & unlimited internet in europe in one pacake. I cant believe Belgium is soooooo expensive.
In Ireland I pay 15 euro for the first 6 months and then 25 after (with month on month contract that can be cancelled), with pretty much unlimited anything. Only calling to US, Australia etc cost extra. Also true unlimited , they do not limit bandwidth after you hit a cap.
In Cambodia I payed 5$ a month for 700GB…
Unlimited calls, texts and mobile data for 20€ per 28 days (yes, per 28 days… 😂) in Ireland with Three. Yes, we get bad value for money in Belgium.
What I will admit however is that Three’s network is utter garbage, so I myself (as a Belgian in Ireland) switched to Vodafone where I get unlimited calls, unlimited texts, 100 international minutes (this is EU but also outside the EU) and 30GB of data for €30/month.
Network quality matters in the value proposition. But I can’t wait for a true pan-European competitor.
All people talking about lack of competition do forget countries like Finland:
3 providers/networks, 32eur/month real unlimited mobile (data, call, sms) . No fup or tricks. Only limit is 20GB EU roaming. But all Nordics/Baltics are considered local, and not roaming.
It is possible with only 3 providers.
I was in Montenegro and I believe we paid 15eur for 500gb. Here in Belgium they laugh with us
Cries in Canadian… Moved to Montreal, I get 3GB of data and I pay 40$
I’m confused. I pay €29 for unlimited at Mobile Vikings.
I’m not saying internet is cheap in Belgium, but if y’all keep using Proximus for 6GB/month there is no help.
My wife recently paid 10€ for the 1 GB. Fuck Orange. And fuck Proximus as well.
Meanwhile Belgian providers will provide an « online deal » where €10 will get you 10GB, then after 6 months that price pretty much doubles. Fuck outta here, that €10 should be the normal price for 10GB.
I remember when i was in Italy this summer I saw an ad saying something like €10 for 120 GB https://www.iliad.it/
In NZ I pay $26/month for 2GB lol
That’s what you get when you actively allow a duopoly to exist.
Internet prices in Belgium are a disgrace.
I live in Ireland and I can get 20 euro top up monthly with unlimited data. And yes, they put in FUP but I often stream on my 4g for netflix, youtube,… and there’s been months where I’ve hit 60-70GB without having to pay extra.
i got the ‘ new formula -promo’ on orange unlimited data and text/calling a while ago ( spotted it when visiting the orange site) ( 30 gb data then 512 kbps cap) at 30 euro’s monthly and an extra sim card for 3€ a month, the surf extra card stops data completely after the 30 gig both share is used.
It’s ok its cheap since there is no normal people live in Belgium in the eye of the politicians we live above our standard the politicians says so for thim it’s cheap fuck the poor guy.!!!
Fake news!!
I used my data while away in Malta as well as Ireland. I have a plan which (is with my tv but then) it’s 21 euro instead of 25/30 euro. That’s 15gb and unlimited calls and texts. Roaming wasn’t a problem with that plan so no new cards were necessary.
This is so much better than Canada, I’m honestly jealous. I have to pay $80 for 20 GB
Not only mobile internet…. Internet at home is also crazy expensive, especially if you just want internet and no TV or landline.
Isn’t that Romania? Belgiums flag is black, yellow and red.
Has anyone gotten a sim from another country which they use in Belgium?
I’m in singapore paying $28 for 275 GB.
I have unlimited mobile data and home internet for 12 euros a month and it’s fast as hell.
I have unlimited mobile data and home internet for 12 euros a month and it’s fast as hell.
Atm i pay telenet 130 a month for 300 mbit fup ( iand i hit that limit 4 to 5 times a year ) . Tv (basic channels ) and 5 sim cards that have a shared pool of 35 gb ) if i look at the same subscription now with 1gb it goes up to 170.
The first pack seems like a rip-off
Its romania not belgium
Orange has a promotion 10gb and unlimited call for 10€ i think
43 comments
I recently visited Spain and I went to buy a SIM-card. Roaming is a thing of the past but my measly 6 GB from Proximus are easily consumed in a few days when I’m on holiday. So I always buy local SIM-cards.
Anyway, I was shocked but not surprised by the local mobile internet prices. Just compare those prices with ours.
In Spain, the first mobile operator store I walked into, I found a prepaid deal: 20 euros for 35 GB (and unlimited national calls for 30 days). That’s 0,57 euro per GB!
Edit: I just checked Italy. 19,99 euro subscription for 100 GB. 0,2 euro per GB…
Here in Belgium the cheapest deal I could find for Proximus: 36,99 euro for 15 GB subscription. That is 2,47 euro per GB!
At Base I found a 29 euro for 16 GB subscription, also with unlimited calls. But this still is 1,81 euro per GB. No possibility to top up if you use those 16 GB within the month.
At Mobile Vikings the best deal for data seems to be 20 euro for 10 GB (also unlimited calls) which is still 2 euro per GB.
Why are we always getting so fucked by our telecom operators? Are there any other deals available in Belgium that I am missing? Is there anything we can do about this? Politicians we can write?
I’m sure Spain isn’t even the cheapest country in Europe for mobile data.
*I left out the ‘unlimited data’ subscriptions because they all have a FUP and aren’t really unlimited, it’s more marketing than real unlimited data.
**Some people will probably say ”who needs more than X GB per Y amount of time” well, I spend a lot of time on public transport and I easily pass my 6 GB cap the 15th of the month if I’m not careful.
The average annual income in Spain is around €27,000, which is lower than many other EU countries. However, Spain also has a lower cost of living than most of its western European neighbors. A full-time worker may take 22 working days (30 calendar days) of paid holiday time annually.11 Aug 2021
In 2007, a person in Belgium on average had a salary of 2,837 euros per month. By 2018, employees on average earned just over 3,600 euros monthly (43k annually). This was significantly higher than the average salary in neighboring country the Netherlands, where the average monthly salary reached 2,474 euros in 2018.
Tl;dr: Cost of living is different in different nations. They make 60% of what we do annually.
It’s still not the Spanish prices, but at Mobile Vikings you can get extra data and a reduction on your phone bill pretty easily with their loyalty programs. At least it’s better than not doing anything.
Mobile vikings limitless is a decent deal tbh
Ondertussen in India:
https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/pr683c/4g_data_is_so_cheap_in_india_that_you_get_2gb/
In Belgium is a clear CARTELLO from this company that not even try to do any concurrency each other, politic is in the balcony to watch, it is a shame this situation is like Belgium isn’t in Europe.
if you have all telenet products, u can get a one bundle where its about €20 per sim card, with unlimited voice and sms, and 40 GB per sim card (shared, so if you get 5 sim cards in your bundle, you can use 200GB of data)
not saying telenet is the cheapest, far from it, but you get value for your money.
Here I am, paying 9 euros for 250 MB… And I actually never really had an issue until I used waze last week. All gone for 1 drive gg
My gut feeling says that lack of real competition among our service providers is the cause of poor quality and high price.
You’ll be even sadder when you look at Polish Mobile Vikings prices.
Fun fact, I’m still banned from the Mobile Vikings Twitter page before I dared to ask them when we would have proper mobile internet prices with this image attached that I found on Reddit:
https://i.redd.it/crfo1nzyubb71.png
Genuine question: what is to stop the average Belgian from getting a French of Italian Sim card for the cheap data?
Obviously one downside would be that you’d have a foreign phone number, but why not get a dual Sim phone, and one cheap cellular subscription for a Belgian phone number, and the Italian/French/Spanish sim card for data?
Am I missing something here?
I pay 32euro for unlimited internet/sms/calls in Switzerland (swiss abo) & unlimited internet in europe in one pacake. I cant believe Belgium is soooooo expensive.
In Ireland I pay 15 euro for the first 6 months and then 25 after (with month on month contract that can be cancelled), with pretty much unlimited anything. Only calling to US, Australia etc cost extra. Also true unlimited , they do not limit bandwidth after you hit a cap.
In Cambodia I payed 5$ a month for 700GB…
Unlimited calls, texts and mobile data for 20€ per 28 days (yes, per 28 days… 😂) in Ireland with Three. Yes, we get bad value for money in Belgium.
What I will admit however is that Three’s network is utter garbage, so I myself (as a Belgian in Ireland) switched to Vodafone where I get unlimited calls, unlimited texts, 100 international minutes (this is EU but also outside the EU) and 30GB of data for €30/month.
Network quality matters in the value proposition. But I can’t wait for a true pan-European competitor.
All people talking about lack of competition do forget countries like Finland:
3 providers/networks, 32eur/month real unlimited mobile (data, call, sms) . No fup or tricks. Only limit is 20GB EU roaming. But all Nordics/Baltics are considered local, and not roaming.
It is possible with only 3 providers.
I was in Montenegro and I believe we paid 15eur for 500gb. Here in Belgium they laugh with us
Cries in Canadian… Moved to Montreal, I get 3GB of data and I pay 40$
I’m confused. I pay €29 for unlimited at Mobile Vikings.
I’m not saying internet is cheap in Belgium, but if y’all keep using Proximus for 6GB/month there is no help.
My wife recently paid 10€ for the 1 GB. Fuck Orange. And fuck Proximus as well.
Meanwhile Belgian providers will provide an « online deal » where €10 will get you 10GB, then after 6 months that price pretty much doubles. Fuck outta here, that €10 should be the normal price for 10GB.
I remember when i was in Italy this summer I saw an ad saying something like €10 for 120 GB https://www.iliad.it/
In NZ I pay $26/month for 2GB lol
That’s what you get when you actively allow a duopoly to exist.
Internet prices in Belgium are a disgrace.
I live in Ireland and I can get 20 euro top up monthly with unlimited data. And yes, they put in FUP but I often stream on my 4g for netflix, youtube,… and there’s been months where I’ve hit 60-70GB without having to pay extra.
i got the ‘ new formula -promo’ on orange unlimited data and text/calling a while ago ( spotted it when visiting the orange site) ( 30 gb data then 512 kbps cap) at 30 euro’s monthly and an extra sim card for 3€ a month, the surf extra card stops data completely after the 30 gig both share is used.
It’s ok its cheap since there is no normal people live in Belgium in the eye of the politicians we live above our standard the politicians says so for thim it’s cheap fuck the poor guy.!!!
Fake news!!
I used my data while away in Malta as well as Ireland. I have a plan which (is with my tv but then) it’s 21 euro instead of 25/30 euro. That’s 15gb and unlimited calls and texts. Roaming wasn’t a problem with that plan so no new cards were necessary.
This is so much better than Canada, I’m honestly jealous. I have to pay $80 for 20 GB
Not only mobile internet…. Internet at home is also crazy expensive, especially if you just want internet and no TV or landline.
Isn’t that Romania? Belgiums flag is black, yellow and red.
Has anyone gotten a sim from another country which they use in Belgium?
I’m in singapore paying $28 for 275 GB.
I have unlimited mobile data and home internet for 12 euros a month and it’s fast as hell.
I have unlimited mobile data and home internet for 12 euros a month and it’s fast as hell.
Atm i pay telenet 130 a month for 300 mbit fup ( iand i hit that limit 4 to 5 times a year ) . Tv (basic channels ) and 5 sim cards that have a shared pool of 35 gb ) if i look at the same subscription now with 1gb it goes up to 170.
The first pack seems like a rip-off
Its romania not belgium
Orange has a promotion 10gb and unlimited call for 10€ i think
Cries in Romanian
That costs even more in Portugal, 30€ for 30Gb
Roumanian flag not Belgium flag…