Deutsche Telekom has launched new business mobile plans that include the option of annual, rather than monthly, data allowances. The new range has a choice of four plans, of which the prices vary from €29.37 (US $34.66) per month for 2 GB of data on the S plan to up to €69.71 (US $82.26) per month (prorated) for 144 GB per year on the XL plan. The annual data option is available on the M, L and XL plans.

All the plans come with features such as One Number, so the business’ fixed number is displayed to a mobile call recipient; free replacement of lost or damaged SIMs; secure login applications and a new smartphone within 24 hours. Smartphones can be added with the new plans, starting from €46.17 (US $54.48).

Tarifica’s Take

This offering from Deutsche Telekom seems particularly well-tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized businesses. As we have reported in the past, SMBs are eagerly embracing bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and tend to be budget-oriented when it comes to mobile services. They are also more likely than large, diversified businesses to have seasonal ups and downs in terms of revenue.

According to DT, the annual data allowance was planned specifically with seasonal business patterns in mind; customers may use more or less data during any given a month due to changes in business activity and would in many cases prefer to not to pay for data that goes unused because the allowance surpasses the need. The yearly allowance concept directly and appropriately addresses this issue, and therefore looks like a winner in terms of plan design.

Furthermore, we might point out that yearly data is very much in line with the current trend toward greater and greater flexibility in plan feature. The demand for flexibility has usually been discussed as if it were exclusively a consumer phenomenon, but it seems likely that in assuming that it also pertains to SMBs, DT has not gone wrong.

Finally, the new business suite’s other features, such as displaying the company’s fixed number and quick replacement of lost devices, are also thoughtfully designed and appropriately targeted to SMBs that rely on BYOD for their employees’ connectivity.