Data transfer rates
Promised internet speeds usually not delivered
Only 4 percent of customers recently achieved the contractually agreed data transfer rate for mobile Internet, compared to 43.5 percent for the fixed network. photo
© Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
Fast internet is often not available in Germany. Customers usually do not get what was promised to them by the providers. Does this also affect satisfaction?
Most Internet customers in Germany do not receive the connection quality that was contractually guaranteed to them. This is the conclusion reached by a report from the Federal Network Agency. Things are going particularly badly with mobile internet. Only 4 percent of customers achieved the contractually agreed data transfer rate. In the previous annual report it was 3 percent. As before, for around a quarter of customers (25.5 percent) it was at least half of the contractually agreed rate.
The situation in the fixed network has also only improved slightly compared to the same period last year. Here, less than half (43.5 percent) of users still achieve the contractually agreed data transfer rate. In 85.5 percent it was at least half. That is only a few percentage points more than in the previous annual report.
Still, most customers were satisfied with the performance of their ISPs, according to the report. For the landline network, 79.1 percent of them gave school grades between 1 and 3. For mobile communications it was 70.4 percent.
Despite the measured difference between mobile communications promises and mobile communications reality, the authority recorded significant progress in expanding the 5G network. The proportion of 5G measurements in the last reporting period 2022/2023 was around 29 percent. Two years earlier it was only six percent. The President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, was satisfied with it. “I’m pleased that the network operators are quickly pushing ahead with 5G expansion. More and more mobile customers are benefiting from the very high speeds,” he said. This development will increase in the coming years.
The results of the broadband measurement depend on which tariff the user has agreed with the provider. Therefore, no statements about the supply situation or availability of broadband Internet access services can be derived from the broadband measurement. It is only checked whether the providers provide their customers with the contractually guaranteed bandwidth.