A comparison by Facile.it shows that Italy is among the cheapest European countries in terms of cell phone rates. Here’s why
The average monthly rates for mobile telephony, voice and data, in Italy are not as expensive as Italians believe. Compared to many other European countries, in fact, in Italy you spend much less to use your cell phone and you get much more GB of data traffic.
This is what emerges from the latest comparison by Facile.it, which compared the average monthly rates of 12 European countries (France, Italy, Poland, Ireland, Great Britain, Denmark, Spain, Holland, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Greece and Norway) and found that only in France, Germany and Poland do users spend less than Italians. Also the average GB of data included in the monthly rates is very high compared to the European one and, consequently, the “virtual cost of GB” in Italy is among the best in Europe. It would seem, therefore, that Italians do not have much to complain about, despite the recent summer increases in telephone rates.
Mobile rates: the survey on the average cost
Let’s start with definitions: Facile.it has analyzed the “average cost” of rates, which is not equivalent to the lowest rate available in a single European country. The well-known online comparator has taken into consideration the mid-range tariffs proposed in June 2019, starting from a mix of representative tariff plans for each country and “calculating an average value in terms of both costs and data traffic, focusing on the intermediate range of the offer, thus excluding entry level proposals, those aimed at specific targets such as the elderly or the young, those aimed at stimulating migration from one operator to another and offers that can be categorized as top of the range”.
Mobile tariffs: in which countries do you pay less
If we talk about average costs of telephone tariffs, the users who pay less are those who live in Poland: on average 6 euros per month, that is 72 euros per year, or half of the average Italian tariff that is equal to 12.5 euros per month with an average of 45 GB of data. France also spends very little on the mobile network: 9 euros per month, with an average of 50 GB of data available. In Germany you pay more or less the same as in Italy: 11.7 euros per month on average, but for only 5.7 GB of data.
The virtual cost of data traffic
If we divide the GB made available by the operator for the tariff, we obtain the so-called “Virtual cost of data traffic”. The three countries with the lowest virtual cost are France (0.18 euros/GB), Italy (0.28 euros/GB) and Poland (0.37 euros/GB). At the bottom of the list, however, are Belgium (4.67 euros/GB), Greece (4.87 euros/GB) and Norway (6.76 euros/GB).