First Things First
With all this competition what should you do as a consumer? The first thing I suggest you do, before you have even investigated any of the new plans, is to call your existing provider and request (demand!!!!) the best deal to keep you as a customer. Remember, if you have a phone device as part of your plan, you will most probably lose the credit that you have been enjoying until now and you will need to pay the remaining (over-priced) amount until the end of the contract. Even with the loss of the credit, you should still find a reduction in your overall cellphone bill.
The Plans - Unlimited vs. Per Minute/SMS
There are two major types of plans available on the marketplace; a fixed monthly amount for an "unlimited" package or a per minute/per sms plan. The type of plan that you negotiate & decide on, will depend largely on your calling needs. The "unlimited" plans give you unlimited calling, unlimited SMS and some form of "unlimited" (with limits) internet surfing.
For those who know that they will be calling & SMS'ing less than 88 shekels a month, then the per minute/SMS plans may be better suited for you.
Drop your Land Line & Save Further
If you are going to go with an unlimited plan you may want to consider cancelling your land line. You can now get an "Internet only" phone line at no cost from Bezeq, and then all you need to pay for is for the internet connection (75-105 NIS per month) to maintain your internet service to your house (for Bezeq ADSL users). By cancelling your land line service you will be saving another 45 NIS per month or more by not using a Bezeq phone line for your calls.
Service
I have been asked by many people how do the various operators compare on service. I have not conducted any studies in this area, but you may find articles now and then in the Israeli press about the long wait times and the over agressive customer service rep's. My assumption is that the service provided by all the operators is uniformly sub-par if you have the time to waste waiting on hold. Therefore you should take service out of the equation when making a decision about which plan to purchase. Do not use the friendly sales rep as a proxy of how after sales service will perform.
Internet Surfing
With the advent of the various "smart phones" in the marketplace, data plans have become the new hot service offered by the operators. Here again there are differences amongst the operators. The factors involved are the maximum amount of data transmission measured in Megabytes or Gigabytes and the speed at which the transmission is being made. Most of the unlimited plans offer 1 Gigabyte of data at the high speed and then after that, the speed begins to drop. Of course if you are a heavy user of data then you can purchase upgraded data plans which offers more data at higher speeds. When in doubt, read the small print. This is where all the info is.
Long Distance
Another interesting service being offered by some of the operators (as part of their unlimited plans) is unlimited long distance. For those of us who make lots of calls to places abroad this is another money saving opportunity. Check with each of the operators, the countries they cover and whether contacting a cell phone in that country is covered within the plan.
The Players
The incumbents include: Pelephone, Orange and Cellcom. The upstarts include: Ramy Levy, Golan Telecom, HOT Mobile, 012 Mobile, YouPhone
The Plans - Unlimited
Remember each of the plans, although they may come with a very heavy contract, must allow you to switch out at your request. The only fee for switching to another operator will be payment for the remaining bill and a new SIM.
| Operator | Price* | Surfing Limit | Unlimited Long Distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pelephone | 99 | 1 Gigabyte | No | 99 NIS + 1NIS/day for Long Distance Min + 2 Gigabyte Surfing & Other features |
| Orange | 125 | 500 Megabyte | No | 135 NIS for Intl Mins + 1 Gigabyte |
| Cellcom | 119 | 1Gigabyte | No | 129 NIS for 200 Intl Mins + 2 Gigabyte |
| Ramy Levy | 88 | 1 Gigabyte | No | Other Surfing Plans Available |
| Golan Telecom | 99 | 3 Gigabyte | Yes to specific countries | |
| HOT Mobile | 89 | 3 GigaByte | No | |
| HOT Mobile with Long Distance | 99 | 3 GigaByte | Yes to 20 Countries | |
| 012 Mobile | 88 | 500 MegaByte | Yes - Canada & US only, Cell & Landline | 98 NIS for 2 Gigabyte |
| YouPhone | 59-109 | 1 GigaByte | No | Monthly Price depends on how much you spend with your You card |
* Price - price per month in NIS, there is a charge from each of the operators for a Phone SIM when you join.
The Plans - Per Min/SMS
| Operator | Fee/Month | Price/Min | Price/SMS | Surfing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pelephone | |||||
| Orange | 0 | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.25/Megabyte | ClearMax Plans |
| Cellcom | 29.00 | 0.69 | 0.65 | No | |
| Ramy Levy (1) | 17.90 | 0.17 | 0.15 | 0.12/Mbyte | |
| Ramy Levy (2) | 4.90 | 0.39 | 0.29 | 0.39/Mbyte | |
| Golan Telecom | 9.99 | 0.18 | 0.01 | 0.09/Mbyte | Monthly Fee includes 60 min + 60 SMS + 10 Mbyte |
| HOT Mobile | 10.00 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.10/Mbyte | Monthly Fee includes 50 min + 50 SMS + 50 Mbyte + 10 Min Long Distance |
| HOT Mobile 10 Agorot | 0 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.10/Mbyte | |
| 012 Mobile | No Plan Currently | ||||
| YouPhone | 18.00 | 0.18 | 0.15 | 0.15/Mbyte | Monthly Price depends on how much you spend with your You card. ex.: 100 NIS = 10 Free Mins |
