It floats a little air of 1998 these days. 1998 is the year of the opening of the mobile telephony market in Switzerland. In a few weeks, Swisscom saw two operators stand before it, DiAx (now Sunrise, then UPC-Sunrise) and Orange (now Salt). For several months, the three operators will wage an incredible war to drive out customers, with surreal promotions and offers. Flights with Crossair and PlayStation are notably offered for new subscribers …
At the start of 2021, UPC-Sunrise takes us back twenty-three years with a funny promotion. An HP laptop (EliteBook 830 G8), valued at 1,799 francs, is currently offered to all new subscribers to the We Mobile XL mobile telephony offer, which costs 100 francs per month. For two cheaper subscriptions, sold for 80 and 65 francs, an iPad with keyboard and an electric scooter from Xiaomi are respectively offered.
24 months of engagement
Why is the new operator, resulting from the very recent merger between UPC and Sunrise, appearing to be so generous? In fact, it is not that much. “Okay, it’s aggressive, but the subscriptions offered are quite expensive and you have to buy them for twenty-four months, so the whole thing is expensive. And there are cheaper computers and subscriptions on the market, ”notes Jean-Claude Frick, telecoms analyst at Comparis.
According to him, UPC-Sunrise is not slashing prices in the long term with these offers, rather it wants to show that it knows how to build promotions. But these are of course limited in time … and it goes without saying that they do not apply to its existing customers.
The return to 1998 is therefore likely to be short-lived and we should not expect a deluge of promotions in the near future. Pity. But it is worth taking a close look at the prices of the three main operators, and especially of their sub-brands, such as Wingo, Yallo or Lebara. For a much lower price than that of the aforementioned offers – sometimes for 25 to 35 francs per month -, the user can have access to a subscription which fully covers his needs. No roaming, no super-fast speed, but at very attractive prices for 2021.
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