On Telekom austria’s website www.telekom.at , you can apply online for a fixed phone line. You can also visit their shops, which are mostly located inside the Post-offices, because Telekom Austria once was part of the “Österreichische Post”.
In most cases the process is quick and simple because most apartments already have the analogue line installed and Telekom will only have to assign a number and release it. Now the tricky part: Already when ordering your line, you should have a clear idea of what you want to do with it. Just fixed line? VoIP, or Internet as well?
Additionally, if you are eager to save some money, here are some alternatives:
- The company Priority offers fixed phone lines and internet access over a cable connection. This offer can be combined with a mobile phone from the provider One. The package is not bad – but you will not be able to change to another ISP or mobile service provider. You also cannot use call-by-call services with a Priority fixed line.
- Inode offers DSL Internet access and VoIP fixed lines connections. Again, the rates are low but call-by-call is not possible. Still, Inode seems to be among the cheapest options and the service is said to be ok.
- Tele2 and UTAare call-by-call providers. To use their services you need a Telekom fixed line phone. Make sure you get a contract where you can still use other call-by-call services. They will try to sell you the “auto-dial” service which saves you from dialling their call-by-call prefix every time you call. In this case, it is not possible to use other services.
Analogue or ISDN?
The ISDN “hype” is long over. There are some advantages and extra services, but most likely you will not really need them. The base fee for ISDN is higher, and you cannot easily connect all peripheral devices as extra phones or fax machines. The only compelling reason to choose ISDN today is if you want two phone lines with separate numbers.
The good old analogue line nowadays serves not only for making phone calls, but also carries the DSL signals (which ISDN cannot do). Analogue base fee is around €15 per month, but varies according to the provider and contract type you choose.