T-Mobile Austria Launches SIM Plan with Interchangeable Units

T-Mobile Austria has introduced a new offer of flexible tariffs that begins on 2 March, based on interchangeable units for minutes, SMS and megabytes of data. According to the operator, the SIM card “Wie Ich Will” (“the way I want it”) is the first offering in Austria to have complete interchangeability between all three services, according to T-Mobile. The card is valid for a 12-month period.

With this offer, customers get 4,000 units for €10.00 (US $10.58) a month or 15,000 units for €15.00 (US $15.87) a month. There is no activation fee or annual service charge. Initially, customers receive the 15,000-unit package for the first two months by default, and afterward they can switch between the two options each month.

Payment options are flexible—either one-time, monthly or automatic. Customers can decide to top up credit via vouchers or ATMs, as well as through their devices or the operator’s website. When a package is used up, customers may buy additional units for €0.09 apiece under the basic tariff.


Flexibility, as we have noted previously, is one of the most desired features in mobile plans today, and this trend cuts across a multitude of market conditions and demographics. The greatest flexibility comes from offering complete interchangeability between voice minutes, SMS, and data, which allows users to allocate their spend entirely according to their usage preferences and does not prejudice one kind of mobile service over any other. That is exactly what T-Mobile Austria’s new SIM package achieves.

The pricing on this offer is not only quite low, as befits a budget SIM prepaid plan, but it is also sensibly tiered in a way that should incentivize customers to buy more units rather than less. For the higher price of €15.00, the cost of one unit is €0.001, while at the lower spending level of €10.00 it costs more than double that, €0.0025. And the unit cost of €0.09 if purchased individually is, of course, dramatically higher by percentage, although still worthwhile if needed in small quantities and on occasion.

Adding to the flexibility with respect to choice between voice, texts, and data is the flexibility regarding payment, as regards both intervals of payment and mode of payment. On the whole, we feel that this plan is an excellent one, well thought-out and likely to appeal to budget-minded users who do not need or want new devices at the moment. We will not be surprised if T-Mobile’s competitors launch similar offers before long, and we can also imagine this approach being expanded to postpaid plans.

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