Berne, 01 July 2008, 12:15
Swisscom today announced that the highly anticipated iPhone 3G will be available July 11, 2008 starting at just CHF 99 for the 8 GB version with a subscription. Swisscom customers can choose between three clearly-defined price plans starting at CHF 25 a month including data transmission, as well as a prepaid offering with no basic monthly charge. Customers benefit from the most extensive mobile broadband network with an ultra fast HSPA connection as well as unique service guarantees.
All new tariffs have a cost ceiling for data transmission of CHF 5 per day. When this amount is reached all further data traffic transmitted on the same calendar day (until midnight) is free. Swisscom thus guarantees cost security for use of the mobile Internet by prepaid customers in particular.
| Retail price 8GB | Retail Price 16 GB | Monthly basic charge | Hourly call rate** | Included volume in megabytes*** | |
| NATEL® liberty piccolo* | CHF 249 | CHF 349 | CHF 25 | CHF 0.70 | 100 |
| NATEL® liberty mezzo* | CHF 199 | CHF 299 | CHF 35 | CHF 0.50 | 250 |
| NATEL® liberty grande* | CHF 99 | CHF 199 | CHF 55 | CHF 0.50 | 1'000 |
| NATEL® easy liberty uno | CHF 519 | CHF 619 | - | CHF 0.80 | (CHF 1/MB) |
| * Contract duration 24 months fixed-line numbers in Switzerland traffic included | |||||
Swisscom also has an attractive iPhone 3G offering for business customers. In addition to the well-known NATEL® rates for business customers, customers can opt for Data Option Business for CHF 10 a month which covers all data traffic with iPhone.
Because Swisscom has enhanced its mobile broadband network to support high-performance HSPA technology more or less throughout Switzerland, owners of an iPhone 3G can expect an impressive multimedia experience. The HSPA network currently covers over 90% of the population and enables high transmission speeds with iPhone 3G of up to 3.6 Mbps. Where no HSPA is available, iPhone 3G users can still get a fast connection - thanks to the extensive Switzerland-wide EDGE network. Swisscom customers can also log in with their iPhone 3G at over 1,200 WLAN hotspots; data volume usage is included in the subscription. A list of all hotspots is available at www.swisscom.ch/iphone.
Swisscom is offering the iPhone 3G with unique services free of charge. Customers receive a fully configured device in the Swisscom Shop which can be used immediately. Swisscom offers a two-year guarantee and provides customers with a replacement device if repair work is needed. Billing of phone calls will be transparent, with a flat rate per call based on the well-known "liberty" principle. If customers are not satisfied with their iPhone 3G, they can return it within 14 days of purchase and receive the purchase price reimbursed in full while not being tied to any kind of contract. In addition, Swisscom will offer courses from August to help customers get to know more about their iPhone so that they can make better use of the plethora of revolutionary functions and possibilities that it offers.
The iPhone 3G is available in all Swisscom Shops as well as in selected chain stores and independent retail channels from 11 July 2008. When bought in combination with a subscription or Swisscom's prepaid offering, the iPhone 3G may only be used with a Swisscom SIM card.
The iPhone 3G combines all the revolutionary features of the iPhone with high-speed HSPA technology, making it twice as fast * as the first iPhone generation. In addition, it offers GPS functionality for expanded location-based mobile services, as well as iPhone 2.0 software which supports Microsoft Exchange Active Sync. It also allows the use of hundreds of third-party applications that were already developed with the recently released iPhone-SDK.
* Based on HSPA and EDGE tests. Actual speeds are location-dependent.