T-Mobile is the first carrier I’ve ever used since I have been living in the Netherlands. It was kind of obvious to choose T-Mobile because it was the only carrier here which offered the iPhone, although it is quite anti-expat as the website is entirely in Dutch. I was using prepaid with Lebara Mobile previously.
I’m quite anti-contract, having bad incidences with Singtel in Singapore. Never ever get a plan with them! They do not control their franchise and resellers, resulting in misleading advertisements on the local newspaper, bad customer services where you stay too long on the phone with no result, even if you overspend with their basic plans they give no suggestion to improve… At least Starhub is better IMO… at least if you ever visit or stay in Singapore…
Anyway, the good thing is. I really like T-Mobile! Here’s the breakdown of Lebara Mobile vs. T-Mobile:
Lebara Mobile:
Type: Prepaid
Call Quality: 4/5
Data Plan: None
Costs: Low. 0.07EUR to a Singapore mobile, 0.12EUR to a NL mobile
Offers: Often. From buy 10EUR, get 10EUR. Free sms to overseas af en toe
Extras: English translated website
Worst: Zero customer service. If you needed it, you had to pay for it.
Perfect for: Students on a budget, especially foreigners
T-Mobile:
Type: Contractual (Prepaid available)
Call Quality: 5/5 (Never dropped once)
Data Plan: Inclusive with plan
Costs: Quite high at 29.95EUR/month for 150 minutes, 150 sms, unlimited Data. For overseas calls you pay extra, roaming calls cost the roof
Offers: None for my plan. Except my 16GB iPhone costed me 159.95EUR
Extras: Punte, or points for each EUR you spend with them. Approximately 1 Pt = 0.02EUR. Fantastic Customer Service
Worst: No english, Google Translate or Bablefish is your best friend, thank God for its customer service
Perfect for: Working people, or people attached to a smart phone
Considering that T-Mobile also has its surf and go promotion for about 9EUR, 20EUR for 150 minutes and 150 sms is not exactly the cheapest plan in the house. But since I was no longer a student on a budget, T-Mobile and of course the iPhone (Skype, Vopium, Fring) was attractive for me.
But what really impressed me about T-Mobile was the customer service. When I walked into the T-Mobile store to get my iPhone, I was told about well, almost everything, in English of course. I was told how to activate the phone, the time I had to wait if I was to be using my old simcard, how to switch off Data Roaming, and some extra fanciful details. I was even told details which I need not know, like how using an ABN AMRO Credit Card does not really put extra insurance on the iPhone even though I thought so. He wasn’t pushy at all, even when in a very fickle female fashion I started contemplating on black vs. white, 8GB vs. 16GB, if I were to continue to use my old number…
Then, I noticed that Dennis had a Belstatus iPhone App van T-Mobile on his iPhone which informed him about the remaining minutes and smses which he had. And since I was told about it by the nice sales person, I tried unsuccessfully to include it but had huge problems because of the great amount of Dutch on the website. So I called the Toll-Free number and got on straightaway. I half expected to be put on hold for 10 minutes like some *ahem* *singtel* other carriers I know. The lady was nice and explained everything, including that Gebruikersnaam did not mean my bank account name. She also explained the kind of charges I would expect using my phone roaming and all in London.
Verdict: I am impressed by the customer service. And although the price is not cheap, I highly recommend T-Mobile NL. The overseas rates are exorbitant but do your research well into VOIP and you can probably find something which might save you money in the long run. As for Lebara, well, both are targeted for very different markets, and if you were a visitor, or a foreign student, with little phone usage, I would recommend that instead.
