If we are talking about that story, that is 12 years ago, not 6 and relates to a different fee structure, not raising of prices. So while I agree that this is a terrible development, I'm not sure that's what we're discussing here. More specifically after 2011 there was a huge downwards pressure on the market coming from increasing competition from virtual operators with decreasing prices.
> relates to a different fee structure, not raising of prices
Are you really arguing that all operators introduced a yearly fee of exactly the same amount, and in a very short period of time, was somehow perfectly balanced out by a drop in monthly rates, and on average nobody ended up paying more?
Yes, Austria in general has a very healthy competitive market for mobile phone plans, but this particular move just looks extremely coordinated.
> Are you really arguing that all operators introduced a yearly fee of exactly the same amount, and in a very short period of time, was somehow perfectly balanced out by a drop in monthly rates, and on average nobody ended up paying more?
I'm arguing that after 2011 when the first operator introduced those fees, the cost of mobile phone plans decreased for many years until around 2019. It's also that not all operators introduced those fees and not all operators did at the same time. The main reason why many operators started charging with this fee structure is pretty obvious: it makes the monthly cost appear lower than it is. It's a form of sanctioned price in-transparency.
//EDIT: the main reason for the introduction of that Servicepauschale was that for a while internet service providers where required to participate in the now illegal "Vorratesdatenspeicherung". The pauschale was generally understood to cover the cost of the infrastructure for it.
