ADSL from T-Online

T online offers adsl services which take about two weeks to get installed. A t-punkt store can do all the ordering for you.
The trick is (with a Macintosh) how to connect.
The answer is this: When you get the letter stating what your password and user name is take note of the T-Online number as well. You will need to formulate a user name based on the following combination:
your Anschlusskennung+T-online number+0001@t-online.de
put that into the user name in your pppoe setup and the Kennwort in the password and you should be good to go.

Phone & Internet Basics

Ah, Telekom. They needed three tries to get my phone service started, which, as I heard from friends, was not at all unusual. Make sure you ask to have an itemized bill and pay attention to how much you are being charged. Most importantly, opt to pay it monthly rather than to have it automatically withdrawn from your account. If they do make a mistake, it’s easier for you to contest it before paying than it is to get back money that was incorrectly debited.

You have many options for long-distance savings—right now I am only spending 3 cents a minute to call home in Texas! (We use the 01081 prefix for all long-distance calls.) Unfortunately the ever-changing landscape of dial-arounds makes things a little complicated. To find out what is currently the best dial-around for your needs (i.e., based on where you’re calling to and when), use Heise.de. Choose “Telefontarife” and have a look at what’s cheapest the moment you click it, or use the search function to get a more thorough table of options.

Heise.de also provides the most comprehensive information about internet providers. I use a call-by-call dialup plan offered by MSN or Freenet. These are really your best option if you’re mostly just checking email once or twice during the day. If you surf a lot, you’ll want to sign up for something more serious: friends have recommended Arcor and a number of people I know use Telekom’s base-rate plan. Again, a site like Heise will help you figure out what you need based on how long you are online, and when.

Virtually every German has a cel-phone (always called a “handy”). In fact, Germans may be surprised if they can’t reach you by cel-phone. If you are sharing an apartment and want your own line, a cell phone may be a cheaper option than having another land line installed—that was my original reason for getting one. I have a pay-as-you-go phone, and it is fairly useful when I’m out of the house a lot or on a research trip. I don’t use it too much, so it doesn’t cost me much. But keep in mind that cell phones works differently in Germany than in North America: the person calling you carries the cost of the mobile connection! It is much more expensive for someone to reach you on a cell phone (up to 25 cents a minute) than on a regular line.

Not exactly Basics:
Do you? 1. Use a Mac with OSX? 2. Hate the T-Online application that you’re forced to launch every time you want to connect? See this guide for instructions on how to bypass it.