Call-by-call will soon be history: Telekom landline customers will only be able to use discount codes for domestic and international calls until the end of 2024.
After that, the option to switch providers from call to call in order to save fees will no longer exist. Deutsche Telekom and the providers of telecommunications and value-added services had already decided this in the summer of 2023.
Use landline flat rate or messenger apps
However, this does not mean that customers of Telekom or other providers now have to make calls at the potentially expensive tariff conditions of their landline provider, explains the telecommunications portal “Teltarif.de”.
Unlimited calls to the German landline network are included in most current combined tariffs for telephone and internet, regardless of whether it is a DSL, cable or fiber optic connection.
And if you want to call abroad or call Germany from abroad, the best thing to do is to use the free telephony feature of a messenger app on your smartphone, the experts advise.
Dial through instead of pre-dialling…
However, older people who may not be used to making phone calls using their smartphones or apps still have other ways to save money on landline calls.
This includes the so-called call-through procedure, which works in a similar way to the call-by-call area codes, explains “Teltarif.de”. You have to dial the 0180 number of the cheapest provider for the respective call destination, enter the actual telephone number and then you can make the call.
… or simply let us call you
It is of course also possible to simply have someone call you, especially from abroad. Perhaps the caller has a flat rate option to Germany or can make cheap calls to local landlines using messenger apps.
With the abolition of the monopoly on voice telephony services in 1998, Telekom was obliged to offer its customers call-by-call in the interests of competition. This obligation expired in 2019.
