Two reasons: In Germany the pre-paid carriers are actually (a little bit) cheaper. I assume they can be run more cost efficiently, not only because of the inter

Two reasons: In Germany the pre-paid carriers are actually (a little bit) cheaper. I assume they can be run more cost efficiently, not only because of the interest but also because they don't have to worry about people not being able to pay their bills etc. The other reason is, back in the early days of the internet I moved and switched from a modem to broadband. I also changed my contract with my internet provider, switching to a flatrate. They sent me an email, saying "order for flatrate received" etc. I didn't read the small print. 2 months later I received my first bill: No flatrate, huge bill. What happened? The day after I ordered, they changed their contracts. My order was for an old contract-type and was silently cancelled. Their fault, right? Nope, legally not, because the email said in the small print "Flatrate not yet booked, please wait for confirmation mail". Customer service figured it was better to screw me over than to keep me as a customer. (Propably a good choice, I think I could buy a flatrate for 3 or 4 years for that money today :) ). Anyway, wouldn't have happened with pre-paid.