Looking for a landline and internet tariff as a senior citizen?
In this article, we’ve reviewed 5 of the best internet and landline offers for seniors in 2024.
We’ve also explained what you need to know when choosing an internet and landline offer, so that you can choose the right plan for your specific needs.
Best landline and internet tariffs for seniors
Let’s begin our reviews.
In this section, we’ve explained and compared some of the best internet and landline combined packages you can buy at the moment as a senior.
1. O2 Landline and DSL
We’ve put O2 #1 on this list because their landline package offers a lot of value in return for your money.
For example, it includes calls to German landlines and mobiles, rather than just landlines. Most other home phone providers only include calls to other landlines.
O2’s internet plans are also great value. They offer fast download speeds of up to 1000 Mbit/s, and have reasonable monthly costs, although there is a decent connection fee.
Another good thing about O2 is they offer the ability to avoid locking into a long-term 24 month contract, if you’d prefer. You can buy broadband on a month-to-month basis, which very few other providers allow you to do.
Overall, it’s hard to go past O2 if you want a landline and internet package as a senior citizen, especially if you often make calls to mobile numbers from your home phone.
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2. Vodafone Landline and DSL
Vodafone is one of the only German internet providers that has special offers for senior citizens on their internet and home phone packages.
As a senior, you get inclusive calls to mobiles as well as other landlines from your home phone, which isn’t available with the default Vodafone internet and phone tariffs.
You can also get connected for free, and avoid paying a connection charge.
The downside is, Vodafone’s senior tariffs only come with a download speed of up to 250 Mbit/s with DSL. However, for most older people, this is plenty of bandwidth.
On the plus side though, if you can get Vodafone cable internet where you live, download speeds of up to 1000 Mbit/s are available. And these plans are even cheaper than the DSL offers.
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3. Maingau Energie Landline and DSL
Maingau Energie doesn’t offer tariffs specifically for seniors, but their prices are very competitive.
It’s hard to find an internet and landline package with a lower monthly cost, when you compare Maingau’s plans to similar offers from other providers.
There are no connection fees to pay as a new Maingau internet customer, and if you’re an existing Maingau Energie customer, you can get an even greater discount on your internet plan.
The downside to Maingau is although the landline connection is included free of charge, you’ll need to pay more to get inclusive calls. Getting a flat rate on calls to landlines is relatively cheap, but the mobile calling add-on is quite expensive.
If you’re a Maingau Energie customer already, or you only ever make calls to other landlines, Maingau Energie internet is a good choice. However, this provider is not the best option if you make lots of calls to mobile phones.
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4. 1&1 Landline and DSL
1&1 is another good choice if you’re looking for a cheap internet and phone tariff, with DSL download speeds of up to 1000 Mbit/s.
They offer quite a long introductory period with a lower price for new customers, which normally lasts 12 months. With most other internet providers, you only get a cheap price for the first six months of the contract.
There is a deployment cost, which is quite high. However, 1&1 offers you the ability to test your new internet and landline connection for 30 days, with no obligation. If the speeds and service aren’t up to standard, you can leave 1&1 before committing to the full 24 month contract.
You get a flat rate on calls to landline numbers with 1&1, but you’ll have to pay per minute to call mobile numbers, as well as foreign numbers, from your landline phone.
Just make sure to opt out of 1&1’s tech offers, such as their included laptops and tablet devices, when you sign up. For most senior citizens, these aren’t worth buying.
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5. PŸUR Landline and DSL
PŸUR is another provider that has tariffs specifically for senior citizens.
The downside of these offers is you can only get a download speed of up to 20 Mbit/s, which is only enough for a single person who gets online on rare occasions. It’s much lower than the 1000 Mbit/s maximum speed that PŸUR normally offers.
However, you do get inclusive calls to landlines and mobile phones with this tariff. It’s hard to find another landline offer with this included for a similar monthly price.
There is also no connection fee, which is great. Plus, the monthly cost is very low, and you get a router included – meaning you don’t have to pay a monthly rental fee.
Despite the lack of a connection fee, we’d still only recommend this tariff if you only get online rarely, and don’t use much data when you do use the internet. If you watch a lot of online videos for example, this internet plan won’t be fast enough for you.
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Important information to consider
In this part of the article, we’ve explained some key things to consider when choosing an internet and landline tariff as a senior citizen.
How landline tariffs work in Germany
Most of the time, when you buy a landline tariff, it will be attached to an internet plan.
You’ll get a certain download speed from your internet tariff, with unlimited surfing included, as well as a landline phone connection.
The landline aspect of the tariff will typically include unlimited calls to German landline numbers, with most internet service providers.
Some companies give you inclusive calls to German mobiles as well, but most of the time you’ll need to pay for an add-on plan to get unlimited mobile calls included.
Apart from this, there are typically also add-ons that give you a flat rate when making calls to foreign numbers, either in other EU countries or further abroad.
What special discounts are on offer for senior citizens?
Most internet service providers do not actually offer senior citizen discounts.
While discounted tariffs are available for young people (typically under the age of 28), senior discounts are quite rare.
However, some companies do offer special tariffs for older people, normally those above the age of 50-60. These special tariffs:
- Often come with a flat calling rate to German mobiles and landlines, rather than just landlines.
- Often come with slower maximum download speeds.
- Often have a lower monthly cost.
Although senior discounts do exist, to find the best internet and phone plan, you’ll just need to evaluate different offers on each provider’s main website, most of the time. Normally you won’t find special tariffs for seniors if you look for them.
What internet speed do I need as a senior citizen?
When shopping for an internet plan you will notice that it comes with an advertised average download speed, shown in megabits per second (Mbit/s).
The download speed measures how fast you can download internet data. It affects your experience when watching videos, downloading email attachments, and browsing social media.
For most 1-2 person households, including senior citizens, a 100 Mbit/s download speed will be plenty.
And if you don’t get online much, and don’t watch many high-definition videos, or download large files, you might be able to get away with a 50 Mbit/s average download speed instead.
How much does a landline and internet tariff typically cost?
In most cases, assuming you get a landline package with just calls to other German landlines, and an internet plan with a download speed of 100 Mbit/s, you can expect to pay about €35-€45 per month for the package, including the Wi-Fi router rental cost.
Obviously, if you get a faster download speed, or if you choose to include phone calls to mobile numbers, or international numbers, you might end up paying more – possibly closer to €50-€60 per month.
How to save money when buying an internet and landline package
If you’re on a tight budget, here are some ways to save money when buying a phone and internet package as a senior citizen:
- Carefully consider the types of phone calls you make, and how often you make them. You might be better off paying per minute for calls from your home phone to mobile numbers, for example.
- Avoid paying for more internet speed than you really need. You probably don’t need a download speed of more than 100 Mbit/s in most cases, unless you have a large family.
- Look for any discounts you can get by bundling other services. For example, you might be able to get a discount on Vodafone internet as an existing Vodafone mobile customer.
- Shop around for the cheapest prices. Some providers, such as O2, are often cheaper than their competitors. Ensure to look at the prices of at least three or four different internet service providers before buying.
- Consider purchasing a Wi-Fi router outright, rather than renting one from your internet provider. This may be cheaper over the long term. Just ensure that the Wi-Fi router you buy is compatible with the type of internet connection you’re using.
DSL vs cable vs fibre internet explained
Depending on where you live, you might be able to get an internet connection delivered via DSL, cable, or fibre-optic technology.
From your perspective as a senior citizen looking for an internet and landline package, we would recommend DSL, if you can get it.
DSL is normally the cheapest way to get online. It doesn’t offer the fastest speeds, but this isn’t a big deal for most older people.
If you find that you can only get cable or fibre internet at your address, or these ways of getting online offer the best prices, there’s nothing wrong with using these types of technology. You can still get a landline phone up and running even if you use fibre internet, for example.
What happens after you place an order for internet and landline?
Once you place an order for a new landline and internet connection, here’s what happens next.
- Your new internet provider will contact the old company, and arrange to cancel the connection. Sometimes you will need to contact your old provider yourself, but if you need to do this, your new provider will let you know.
- Your new provider will send your router out in the mail, if you have chosen to rent or buy a new one from them.
- Your new provider will arrange to set up the internet connection, and let you know when the switch will take place.
- An engineer may need to come and visit, depending on the provider you’re switching to, and the internet technology being used.
- You’ll set up your router and get online, assuming the technician did not already do this for you.
Remember, if you’re uncomfortable setting up your own Wi-Fi router, you can always contact your internet provider’s customer support team.
They may be able to arrange to have someone come and help you get set up, even if an engineer visit is not normally necessary to get you online.
Conclusion
This is the end of our internet and landline tariff buyer’s guide.
Remember, while one or two internet providers have tariffs designed specifically for senior citizens, it’s important to consider the broader range of offers on the market.
Since so many providers don’t offer special tariffs for older people, you’ll need to look at normal offers from other companies as well, such as O2.
If you’re still not sure how to choose a landline and internet offer as a senior citizen, leave a comment below, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
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I’m Roger, and I’m the founder of Broadband 4 Europe.
I grew up in Switzerland but live in Germany now, and also lived in South Tirol for a while in the past.
I have a background in IT and have performed extensive research into the broadband markets of most major European countries. Learning about fixed-line broadband markets is my nerdy hobby, but I’m also excited by the possibilities that 5G (and eventually 6G) broadband will provide us in the future.
When I’m not researching broadband companies and their networks, you’ll find me playing volleyball or the piano.