Telefonica Germany said that it has reworked its O2 Business tariff portfolio, introducing new speed-based plans with unlimited data.

The offer starts with the Business Unlimited Basic tariff with unlimited data at up to 3 Mbps for €25.00 (US $29.12) per month. This includes 5G access and 15 GB data for EU roaming. The Unlimited Smart plan offers up to 10 Mbps for €35.00 (US $40.78) per month and 20 GB for EU roaming, while Business Unlimited Max offers up to 300 Mbps and 35 GB for EU roaming and unlimited calls and texts to other EU countries for €60.00 (US $69.90) per month. All the tariffs include unlimited calls, texts and data, including 5G data.

Tarifica’s Take

In today’s arms race of data, when the advent of 5G promises quantum leaps in speed and consumers evince a seemingly unlimited appetite for bandwidth, it may seem counterintuitive or outmoded for operators to engage in speed-based pricing.

Especially in a developed market, one might assume that few users are willing to sacrifice speed to save money, and indeed that accepting slower data is tantamount to defeating the purpose of high-speed data.

However, in the business sector, particularly among SMEs, slower speeds are not necessarily stigmatized. Given that employees of companies are not expected to be streaming entertainment content or engaging in gaming at work, there are many situations in which the top speeds available are not required. The cost savings that would accrue to employers that tailor the data speeds of lines used by various employees to their various needs would be very welcome.

Therefore, it is a very appropriate move for an operator such as Telefonica Germany to offer business tariffs that are tiered not only by data allowances and roaming but also by speed. There is no reason for a company to pay for 300 Mbps for all employees if only some need it.