Convenient in a package - pctipp.ch

2024-03-20 10:30:00

The all-in-one offers from providers such as Quickline, Sunrise and Swisscom cover digital TV, Internet and telephony. PCtipp compares where you can get the most bang for your buck.

If the customer purchases Internet, telephone and TV services from just one provider, a whole lot of money can usually be saved. What sounds good at first sometimes requires meticulous calculation. The all-in-one packages sometimes have large differences in internet speed, television functions and channels or even telephone tariffs. In this buying guide, PCtipp compares nine well-known Swiss providers of combination packages. You can read the individual tests and detailed information about the test candidates from Part 2 or in the table on the last page/Part 5.

Note: This article first appeared in the print edition of PCtipp. Data is as of late November 2023 and may have changed. You can order a PCtipp subscription here! At the speed of light

All nine providers use fiber optics or slower copper as a transport medium, where there is no other option (yet): While the providers Init7, M-Budget, Quickline and Teleboy use the Swisscom network, Sunrise goes its own way and works with the Salt network together. The two providers Green.ch and iWay work together with Swisscom, but also cooperate with municipal companies.

Little price transparency

The biggest negative point is still the provider’s lack of transparency when it comes to absolute costs. Even for us as “professionals”, it was not always easy to see what the chosen range of services offered and how much it actually cost in the end. The best way to find out is through the FAQs. Here the providers have to show their colors and name things like minimum term, speed or even the countries included in the telephone flat rate. Another point of criticism: the offers are often oversized and do not respond to individual wishes; just as we would like it to be.

Silver lining on the horizon

The easiest way for users to put together the offers is at Green.ch, Init7, iWay, M-Budget, Quickline and Teleboy. These are very transparent and guide the user straight through the areas of TV, telephone and Internet.

We are (unfortunately still) dissatisfied with the two largest providers, Sunrise and Swisscom. This is particularly annoying because you would expect them to be more user-friendly. But the reality speaks different volumes: At Sunrise, the ordering process is confusing with too many “Up” subscriptions and their selection options.

At Swisscom, however, the true costs are left behind during the ordering process. Only at second glance do you realize, for example, that the discounts are only valid for six months. After that, buyers have to pay significantly more for another 18 months (i.e. until the end of the contract term).

The tested providers