Mobile Internet slower than agreed?

Federal Network Agency wants to strengthen customer rights

Created: 08/30/2022, 15:21

Mobile operators do not always fulfill their promises of fast mobile Internet.

The Telecommunications Act therefore gives consumers the right to reduce the contractually agreed fee if transmission speeds are too low.

Bonn – The Federal Network Agency has now published the key points in which cases this should be possible in the future.

Telecommunications companies, consumer advocates and other interested groups can now comment on this until September 30th.

"With the key points, we are starting the discussion process for the planned regulations on the right to reduce mobile Internet access," said the President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller.

The aim is to help consumers at the end of this process to be able to assert their rights in mobile communications in the future.

Mobile Internet: provider networks in the regions crucial

.The problem: Proof of reduced performance in mobile communications is much more complex than in the fixed network.

Because the service is not provided at a fixed location.

The decisive factor is therefore how efficient the networks of the providers are in the individual regions.

The Federal Network Agency is therefore planning to use differentiated deductions as a basis for determining a reduction-relevant deviation from the contractually agreed service.

Accessible anywhere and anytime thanks to mobile internet.

However, the networks are not yet efficient in all regions.

© Jose Carlos Ichiro /imago

According to the Federal Network Agency, the possible discount could be 75 percent in urban areas, 85 percent in semi-urban areas and 90 percent in rural areas.

“These discounts may seem high.

In view of the often agreed maximum speeds of several hundred Mbit/s, even with such discounts, there are still high data transmission rates for most end customers," emphasized the authority.

Mobile Internet: Consumer advocates want to get involved in the discussion

In order to be able to assert reduction claims, however, consumers will have to do a lot.

According to current plans, a total of 30 measurements over five calendar days using a measurement tool provided by the Federal Network Agency should be necessary.

The consumer centers welcomed the publication of the key points and announced that they wanted to get involved intensively in the discussion process.

At first glance, the discounts on the agreed surfing speed of up to 90 percent planned by the Federal Network Agency seemed “very high”, said the digital expert of the Federal Association of Consumer Advice Centers, Lina Ehrig.

In addition, it must be possible for people to carry out the measurements in a realistic and reasonable amount of time, she warned.

Mobile Internet: Deutsche Telekom speaks of a first step

Deutsche Telekom spoke of a first step by the Federal Network Agency to "specify the regulations for checking bandwidths in mobile communications".

The mobile phone provider Telefonica said that it would first view the key points and discuss them within the industry associations.

The authority was initially unable to say when a general decree on the reduction regulations for mobile Internet access can be expected.

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