FACT · MOBILE NETWORK OPERATOR

About 1&1

Germany's fourth and newest national mobile network operator.

Key facts

Type
Mobile network operator (MNO) and ISP
Headquarters
Montabaur, Germany
Founded
1988 (as 1&1 EDV-Marketing); MNO launch 2023
Parent
United Internet AG
Network name
1&1 5G
Headline consumer plan
1&1 All-Net-Flat 60 GB, EUR 19.99/mo (EUR 9.99 first 3 months)
5G coverage
~95% nationwide (early 2026), targeting near 100% by end 2026
5G top speed
300 Mbit/s
Flanker brands (Drillisch)
sim.de, winSIM, handyvertrag.de
Fallback network
Vodafone (where 1&1 has no own coverage)
Official site
Wikipedia

What is it?

1&1 AG is a German telecoms group owned by United Internet AG. It became Germany's fourth mobile network operator in 2023, building its own 5G infrastructure from scratch. Before then, 1&1 sold mobile plans as an MVNO on Telefónica.

The 1&1 network reached ~95% nationwide 5G coverage by early 2026 and is targeting near-100% by end 2026. Where 1&1's own cell sites don't reach, the SIM falls back to Vodafone via roaming agreement, so coverage is rarely a deal-breaker in practice.

The consumer ladder is 1&1 All-Net-Flat at 10 GB / 60 GB / 120 GB monthly contracts, with promotional first-3-month pricing of EUR 9.99 for all tiers. Ongoing prices are EUR 14.99 / 19.99 / 24.99. The 1&1 group also owns the Drillisch flanker brands sim.de, winSIM, and handyvertrag.de, which sell stripped-down online-only contracts on the same 1&1 5G network at lower price points (winSIM 10 GB for EUR 6/month, sim.de 40 GB for EUR 8.99/month).

1&1 was placed fourth (last) of four operators in the connect 2025 network test, with the largest performance gap in rural areas. The gap is shrinking as 1&1 continues building cell sites.

Where it appears on SimCompare365

Sources