Mobile simulator - How it works

On this website, you will have the possibility to use a computer tool comparing the cost and the quality of the tariff plans proposed for the use of a telephone connection from a mobile telephone.  

The tool compares the tariff plans of the operators available on the Maltese market and is based on your detailed consumption profile.  

This indicative tool can help you to choose a specific tariff plan offered by your current provider or by another provider.

The consumption profile you enter must be considered as a daily or monthly rating of your use.  

Step 1 : Basic profile

The first step consists in entering the usage details of your mobile connection.

You first have to mention if you would rather have a Prepaid or Postpaid payment method or if you don’t mind.  

You are then requested to mention if you are entering a daily or a monthly usage profile.  

Then you have to answer a series of simple questions to have a correct estimation of your consumption profile. So you have to indicate:

  • The time period during which you mostly use your mobile connection to make calls. By clicking on the right arrow, you will have the choice between the following options:  
    • At any time;
    • Week-end;
    • Monday to Friday on daytime;
    • Monday to Friday in the evening;
    • Monday-Friday on daytime and in the evening;
    • Monday-Friday in the evening and at weekends;
    • Monday-Friday on daytime and at weekends.
  • The estimated number of call minutes to a calling party using a mobile connection in Malta (national calls);
  • The percentage of your call minutes to other mobile phones (this field is filled in by default by the model assumptions; the percentage to fixed lines is automatically calculated by the tool); 
  • If you know it, the name of the mobile operator you call the most frequently.
  •  In this case you are requested to specify the call percentage you make to parties using the network of this operator;
  • If you don't know the percentage to a nominated operator then the system will split your call time minutes between the various operators based on their current market share
  • If you make international calls, the time period during which you mostly use your mobile phone to make international calls as well as the countries the most frequently called (maximum three countries) with the estimated number of call minutes;
  • The number of short message services (SMS);
  • The number of multimedia message services (MMS);
  • The data use (in Megabyte per month);
  • Your quality requirements. So you can indicate if you wish that the comparison tool shows you in priority the tariff plans to which one of the three following qualitative elements is linked: access to helpdesk, consultation of the bill status at any time, availability of sales outlets. If these qualitative aspects are not important for you, you can also indicate it and in this assumption all tariff plans will be shown to you.  

It should be pointed out that this screen ask you two times the time period during which you mostly use your mobile phone to make calls, once for national calls and another time for international calls.  

Indeed, consumers often have different calling slots for national and international calls.

When you have entered this information you have two possibilities.

Either you still wish to refine your consumption profile and you click on the button « Enter more detailed information on your usage” (step 2).

Or you wish to immediately obtain the results proposed by the tool according to the simple profile you have entered, then you click on the button “Get results immediately” (step 3).

Step 2 : Detailed profile (optional)

The second step is optional and enables you to define your consumption profile more precisely.  

This step can be activated by clicking on the button to enter more detailed information on your consumption profile.

At this moment you can see the work assumptions selected by the tariff comparison tool for the distribution of the call minutes you have indicated at step 1.

The tool distributes these minutes between the different periods.

For example if you have entered at step 1 an estimated number of call minutes as well as the percentage of calls to mobile phones and specified the period during which you mostly use your mobile telephone to make calls, you will get the distribution of minutes according to days (week and weekend) and hours, as well as between mobile operators.

This last estimation of the distribution between mobile operators is set by default according to their market shares.  

Therefore you can refine the usage estimations of your phone according to hours, days and operators.

You have the possibility to detail your consumption profile for calls to fixed phones situated in Malta, for calls to mobile telephones and international calls.

When you have entered these optional consumption details, you can choose the button “Get results now” to have immediately access to the results proposed by the tool.

Step 3 :

The third step consists in getting and viewing the results.  

The software provides you with a list of the tariff plans sorted out in ascending order of monthly cost in the light of the usage details you have entered.

 This list indicates the following information:

  • the name of the operator, possibly with his logo;
  • the name of the tariff plan (with possibly the name of the combined and/or reduced tariff plans)  
  • the monthly calculated cost;
  • the kind of plan (prepaid or postpaid plan) ;
  • the opening hours of the customer service that are shown to you in a window when you put your cursor on the corresponding icon ;
  • the different billing options linked to the tariff plan that are shown to you in a window when you put your cursor on the corresponding icon ;
  • the different payment options linked to the tariff plan that are shown to you in a window when you put your cursor on the corresponding icon ;
  • the different quality information linked to the tariff plan that is shown to you in a window when you put your cursor on the corresponding icon ;
  • other features linked to the tariff plan that are shown to you in a window when you put your cursor on the corresponding icon ;

By default this list is limited to the 20 best offers by suggesting a maximum of three offers per operator.  The user has the possibility to modify the number of results displayed.

By clicking on the button « Show filters », you can refine the selection of tariff plans by asking the tool to only show the tariff plans meeting some quality requirements, of which the list is below:

  • the maximum duration of the contract.

The list of results that is shown to you will be adapted according to your quality requirements when you will click on the button « Recalculate the results ».

You can change the sorting order of this list of results by clicking on the title of the column you want to get (operator, tariff plan, monthly cost).

If you want to view the specific details of one of the tariffs displayed on the result screen you can do it by clicking on the name of the particular tariff (step 4).

If you want to modify the consumption profile that you have entered, you can do it by clicking on the button “View/modify usage information” to come back to step 1 and on the button "Go back to detailed input screen" to come back to step 1.

You can print the list of results by clicking directly on the button “Print results”.

Step 4 :

This step makes it possible to consult the specific details of the tariff plan of one operator.

You can access to them by clicking on a tariff name in the list of results.

This page gives a series of information on:

  • the operator’s identity (name, address, contact phone, website, description);
  • the detail, the distinctive features and the information on the service quality of a tariff plan, or the proposed combination of tariff plans.

Need Help?

For more information about the portal visit our Frequently Asked Questions or contact us by email at customercare@mca.org.mt or by phone at +356 21336840