Telphone and Internet provider suggestions

Hi there,

I realise you´ve gone round and round these issues before, but I thought that somebody might know of a good deal going at present that could solve my problem.

I´ve been in Germany for a week, in temporary accommodation, to take a job here in a small town in the south. But as a journo who´s also doing freelance work, I urgently need a home internet connection. Trouble is, my work contract here is for one year and everybody keeps telling me the contracts are for 24 months. I suspect this is my limited German.

Can anybody tell me how to get an ongoing internet connection, that could be extended to 24 months if necessary, but which could be as short as nine months or one year? Even just the right phrase to use at the telco shop would be great. Also, if they could bundle it with a landline at the same time, that would be even better.

Any suggestions? Particularly about providers - especially those with English telephone services! Also, I don´t yet have a German bank account or credit card. Will these be a problem?

Thanks in advance,

Balmain

i believe the solution has already been discussed on the forum. You might find it helpful to use to the search function. I can't remember which thread it was otherwise I'd point you there.

edit: here is one:

Lidl offer DSL / broadband Internet services

or this one:

Telephone and Internet provider recommendations

As OG says, search is your friend.

Before Hutcho recommends them, Alice (http://www.alice-dsl.de) have no minimum contract and a 1 month notice. You need to pay by ELV (direct debit) though, so could be a problem not having a bank account. I guess many providers will require that, so I'd recommend you get a bank account sorted. Deutsche Telekom also do a pretty minimal contract period, although not on all tarifs (the ones they push are all longer minimum contracts than you want, but they do also have shorter ones). You might have more luck paying without a bank account with them as well. As for English-speakers, search in the forum and there was something about English-speaking Telekom service agents, but I think generally you'll just be phoning a number and hoping you get lucky.

With the exception of Deutsche Telekom, ALL providers in Germany will require you to have a German Bank account, and most will expect a direct debit authority. The account doesn't necessarily need to be yours of course, just someone who will accept payments (as automatic deductions) for your invoices. Deutsche Telekom don't need that account to set up the service but will send invoice with bank transfer (Überweisung) forms for you to transfer the invoiced amount each month. This means you'll still need to have someone else's bank account you can use to make the payment, but I guess is less risky for them to provide (as they make the payment action themselves, rather then permitting an automatic deduction over which they have no control).