I use Lebara pre-pay which uses the Sunrise network. 

I pay 14.50 per month for unlimited internet and some really small amount for calls and sms. Because of the unlimited internet I use skype, whatsapp etc so hardly ever pay for calls or messages.

Support wise, I never need to call, it just works. But they do have a support line in multiple languages inc english and respond to email within a day. All top ups etc can be done online.

Coverage wise, well it's gonna depend exaxtly where you use it but I've never been somewhere without signal.

** The unlimited deal isn't on their website any more but I believe you can still get by sending the code via SMS.

Although I've never been a fan of Swisscom because of the prices, I recently changed from Sunrise (I had a Yallo prepaid) to Swisscom (a decent subscription for 33 CHF per month, including 100MB of internet which is more than enough for my usage), because of coverage issues. With Sunrise I had almost no decent coverage inside buildings (including my apartment), and in my work offices, which was annoying because I need to use my personal phone for professional purposes sometimes. It has happened that I did not have coverage for several hours and that people tried to phone me... This has changed drastically since I changed to Swisscom, never had problems anymore.

I've never used their support so can't say anything about that.

I agree with eva on the coverage. I have a dual-sim phone with one on Lebara/Sunrise and the other a foreign card in roaming but always connected to Swisscom so can do a direct comparison.

Indoors, Swisscom coverage is fine, while Sunrise patchy at best. I work near the airport/French border so even had to put the network manualy on Sunrise because on automatic it kept loosing the signal and connecting to a French network in roaming.

I am no expert so not sure if the fact that I am not on Sunrise directly but rather via Lebara has anything to do with it, but doubt it.

Another cheap option one could consider is Lyca Mobile, that uses the Swisscom network.

Of course it's all down to what you want and what you're willing to pay and if you want a "free" phone bundled with it.

For me being a low caller and texter, I don't want free minutes and texts and because I buy a new iPhone from apple each time, I don't care about a free phone and don't want tied into a deal. So for me the contracts were way too expensive @ between 60-90chf per month. Right now I pay less than 20chf and for unlimited data, i think it's hard to beat.

I work up at Grange Canal and travel to Nyon daily and for me, the coverage is fine. I watch streaming TV or surf the web all the way to the office.

Would be worth paying 10chf for a Lebara SIM or Sunrise pay as you go and try it out for a week before comitting to a contract.

I can speak only about coverage, as I am using an ALDI mobile prepaid card which uses the Sunrise network.

In Geneva the coverage is OK, I don't remember ever having any troubles using it here. Works fine also in my apartment and at CERN. In the countryside however the coverage is not so great, in particular in the mountains. So if you mainly intend to use it there (e.g. hiking, train rides etc.), I would go for something else.

Anyway I can't complain, since the only two people I usually call are on ALDI as well my cell phone essentially doesn't cost me anything (ALDI-internal calls are free) 

i use yallo which also opporates off the sun rise network.  Network wise its fine, sometimes on train routes you hit some black spots but otherwise no issues

Here is a usefull and very informative site, we can all talk be we all have different needs, and I think this site give you comprehensive comparisons:

http://en.comparis.ch/telecom/mobile.aspx

http://en.comparis.ch/telecom/mobile/umfrage/hitlist.aspx

Hey, i have found all this very interesting as i have always had a cheapo (non-smart) phone which i have been paying as i go with but think i would be better off buying a smart phone unlocked and getting my own sim card with a better deal, like Monika and John point out.

so, is it that simple... Can i, say, buy a 'Déverrouillé' iPhone at the Apple Store and then get a prepaid simcard from Aldi or Lyca and just go from there?

if it is all that simple, i reckon i'll be saving money, despite having to pay a lump for the phone, within a few months.... Is thIs right?

thanks!

You could indeed do this.. You could buy any unlocked smart phone, direct from Apple, Interdiscount or even second hand, as long as it's not locked to a certain provider.

From there you can buy any simcard from any tabac etc etc. Register online with the provider and you can manage everything from there, like top ups or just buy top up from a any shop / ATM whatever.

My preference is Apple.. So I pay for example 750chf for the latest phone. Then 20chf / month for the pre-pay sim.  Total 990chf for that first year.. Then I sell the phone for ~600chf and buy the next new one. So second year is only  290chf total.. and so on.

Bad point is the big initial cost of the phone but of course you buy cheap second hand. Good points are the phone is actually yours, you can sell it any time and buy another one. You can change provider any time for better deal. 

Personally, I would not recommend Sunrise. Coverage is bad, especially if you live close to the border or at the lake, as it changes quite often to the French network. Also, customer service is unreachable. I have changed for Swisscom.

In my view, Sunrise is a once bitten twice shy outfit.

This "changing to a French network" thing is a problem for everyone, even Swisscom customers (I used to be one).  It's pretty much obligatory for area residents to manually select the appropriate carrier in your phone settings.  That, or occasionally suffer from painful roaming charges.

I should apologise to Mary M for high jacking your thread, hope you don't mind!

I have another question, not really about coverage but I guess it makes sense to post it there..

If i sign on for a contract, after the period of that contract, is the phone then paid for, unlocked and totally mine? (can i then go off ahd get a cheaper pay-as-you-go deal for it?)

Thanks again Mary M!

Helpful replies - thanks very much (and no, I don't feel the thread has been hijacked).  All these angles are useful.

What about being able to keep the same phone number with using pre-paid SIM cards? e.g. in John H's scenario ("My preference is Apple.. So I pay for example 750chf for the latest phone. Then 20chf / month for the pre-pay sim.  Total 990chf for that first year.. Then I sell the phone for ~600chf and buy the next new one. So second year is only  290chf total.. and so on".), can he keep the same number?

As for Jimbo's question about keeping a phone at the end of a contract, it's my experience with Orange (which I'm about to resign from) that since I'm at contract's  end & phone is unlocked (which the Apple Store tweaked for me yesterday), YES - the phone is now mine to use as I wish. 

I can't answer that question about keeping your old number with 100 per cent certainty but i think i saw on the Aldi site that they actually give you 50 chf credit if you keep your old number when you sign up for their prepaid deals. Somebody else might be able to say if this is typical.

Once bitten, twice shy.   I arranged a contract with Sunrise for my daughter, they supplied a phone with the wrong size of sim card.  We went back into the shop and pointed out their error, they offered to sell us the right size of sim for another 40chf, I pointed out they sold us a phone with the wrong sim and had not offered a choice of sim size.   They agreed to replace the sim as it was their fault.   The next monthly bill arrived with a 40chf fee for the replacement sim.  After a while the phone stopped connecting to any wifi, then it downloaded an update which completely killed the phone - as it would not connect to any wifi the only way the update could have arrived is via Sunrise, but Sunrise declined to repair the phone, offering to sell me a replacement.  After I pointed out the upgrade could only come from Sunrise their repair center in the German region agreed to repair the handset, but the Romande section got in the way and no repair was made.   I will never ever make any future arrangement with Sunrise, because they lied to me on several ocassions.

By the way, the network coverage was absolutely awfull - switching to very expensive French providers all over Geneva and Vaud.   My daughter could get a Sunrise signal at Geneva Gare, but few other locations.

ps.  We now have phones on the Swisscom network.   The coverage is excellent and we get Swiss Swisscom reception everwhere in Geneva and in Vaud, where Sunrise would dump us into French providers.    The contract costs and call costs work out cheaper with Swisscom than with Sunrise, but Swisscom have a good network and don't think they need cheap handset deals to lure us in.   So, if you want an upfront discount on handsets then Orange or Sunrise might be right for you, but if you want a phone you can use then go to Swisscom.

I guess it depends on what your usage is gonna be. I've been with Swisscom since the mid 90s and I am honestly pretty happy. I have mobile phones, landline ISDNs and internet with Swisscom. Truth is, I use my mobile phone a lot. I live on it and it helps make me successful. I travel all over the world and have yet to get stuck anywhere that I couldn't roam. (probably shouldn't have written that - maybe jinxed myself;-) Oh yeah....it's expensive. Monthly invoices rival rent payments, regularly. But, again, it works everywhere I go.

If I stayed in GVA all the time, or worked in an office 8 hours a day and didn't travel outside of CH for a living, I might consider something else. But, that's not my case...

Obviously, everyone's situation is different.

KEN///  

1) siwsscom

2) sunrise

3) orange

i'm with sunrise... not too bad.... if you can, go for swisscom