Vodafone has launched an enticing promotion for its customers this summer: free data. However, there’s a catch – only prepaid customers can obtain it, not contract customers with mobile plans. This creates an interesting paradox in the market, where it is more advantageous for people to recharge prepayment cards than to have a contract.
Starting Thursday, June 1st, Vodafone will upgrade its standard offer by 5 GB. In other words, people with the basic tariff with a 1.5 GB data package will get 6.5 GB of data immediately. This data can be obtained with unlimited SMS messages on the Vodafone network for CZK 119. If people prefer unlimited calling on the Vodafone network to SMS messages, it will cost them CZK 139.
Purchasing SMS messages and unlimited calling on the Vodafone network is also possible. Although it costs CZK 299, people will receive 3.5 GB of data immediately. With the summer promotion, they will have 8.5 GB of data.
A data gift of 5 GB is available to all customers who use Data+SMS or Komplet packages. In theory, getting as much as 15 GB of data for CZK 399 is possible, including unlimited SMS messages on the Vodafone network.
“Our strategy is to digitize the Czech Republic, and we are pleased that people with prepaid cards are increasingly using mobile data. Over the summer, when they spend time on vacation, we give away 5 GB of data every month. This gift applies to the current offer and the revised packages from the end of June. Moreover, all prepaid cards can use our latest 5G network,” said Josef Bína, manager of the prepaid card segment at Vodafone.
For comparison, contract customers will pay CZK 326 for 130 minutes of calling to any network and 1 GB of monthly data. 250 minutes of calling with the same data package will cost CZK 435.
If people want more data, they can opt for a tariff with a 6 GB package, which already includes unlimited calling and SMS messages to all networks. However, this one costs CZK 653. This operator also offers unlimited data for the same amount, although only with a speed of 2 Mb/s.
It is true that with more expensive tariffs, people can call all networks or even unlimited data. Nevertheless, for many people, prepaid card prices will be more attractive due to the considerable amount of data. Additionally, the operator provides data not only to new SIM cards but also to existing ones. It is, therefore, not necessary to obtain a new phone number.
However, the summer promotion is only valid until the end of the holidays, i.e., August 31st. Afterward, it will not be possible to use the 5 GB package.