Internet and cell phones in Mannheim

Sandeep, who is planning to start an MBA here in Mannheim soon, sent me this question which I thought I wuld answer on the blog.

From: sandeep jain
Date: Mon, Jul 14, 2008 at 21:24

Hi Fernando

How are you doing?

I am sure you must be at a half way to complete your year end company project.

Fernando had a few questions regarding the Internat and mobile technology in Germany.
How about internet at home (provided by Mannheim) is it free of cost or payable. Is it wireless or we have to arrange for the internet on our own?
Mobile technology. Which is the technology used in germany GSM or CDMA. Are mobile services expensive there? Is it a viable option to use for connecting with family in emergencies?

Thank you .......Sandeep Jain

If you are staying at one of the apartments organized by the Mannheim Business School, like I am, then broadband internet is included. In my case, I have a LAN socket and a very long cable in my apartment, which works very well. In other buildings I hear they have wireless LAN connection. So no worries there.
Furthermore, you have wireless LAN connection all over Campus, either through the university's WLAN or through the b-school's own. Some places in Mannheim also offer free WLAN, like the Star coffee shop on N7.

Germany is GSM country, which is very practical, as you can change operators by simply changing SIM cards, as long as your cell phone is not locked. You can either buy a contract (usually 2 years, gets you a free handset for a fixed monthly price plus extra expenses. You might be able to cancel the contract uppon departing Germany, but you have to make sure of that before signing) or, as I prefer, pay as you go or pre-paid plans.
I am a happy customer of Symio, a pre-paid provider based on the internet. Their plans are simple and the prices are good, so far I am happy, even though there was a great deal of confusion when I decided to change from GPRS SIM card to a UMTS one.
This means, of course, that I use my cell phone for internet on the go: maps, e-mail, twitter, reading, news, train schedules, IM, etc. Works pretty well on my Nokia E61 and the Symio internet price is unbeatable: 0,24€ per MB. That means that my weekly internet bills are usually below 2€, even with daily internet use.
Call prices are 0,09€ per minute any number in Germany. To Symio number it is even cheaper, but I have no idea who of my friends also use Symio. And SMS is also 9 cents.
For international calls, I use Skype Out. Other alternatives are the several call shops available downtown and near the train station. rAtes are just cents per minute, if I am not mistaken.
Now let me put a link in this post and continue our project work.