Telecommunications: Mobile phone reduction law: Criticism from consumer advice center

telecommunications
Mobile phone reduction law: criticism from consumer advice center

If you get much worse internet with your smartphone than contractually agreed, you should have to pay less in the future. A key issues paper that the Federal Network Agency has presented for the implementation of a statutory requirement is now being sharply criticized by consumer advocates. The targeted rules for the reduction right are disappointing, said the head of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv), Ramona Pop, in Berlin.

The associated measurement tool is “in theory a very good thing”. In the form proposed by the Federal Network Agency, it is “almost unusable” for consumers.

The reduction right for internet contracts has existed since the end of last year. So far it only applies to landline connections. Anyone who gets certified in black and white via the measurement tool breitbandmessung.de that there is too great a gap between contractual promises and actual performance can enforce a reduction in their monthly payments.

Rules for traveling too

Now said reduction right is to be extended to mobile communications. However, this is more complicated because there is no specific connection as with the fixed network, but the mobile phone antennas are used by all customers in the area and demand fluctuates greatly.

With this difficulty in mind, the Federal Network Agency proposed moderate specifications. According to the key issues paper, which is a precursor available later, at least 25 percent of the estimated maximum transmission value must be reached in urban areas, 15 percent in semi-urban areas and 10 percent in rural areas. Anyone strolling through the inner city of a large city and, according to the product information sheet of their mobile phone contract, has been guaranteed a maximum download speed of 100 megabits per second must have a data transmission rate of at least 25 megabits per second.

However, perseverance is required for the consumer to have the reduction claim confirmed: he has to carry out a total of 30 measurements over five calendar days using the network agency’s measuring tool. There must be six measurements per day, with a break of at least three hours between the third and fourth measurement and five minutes between the other measurements.

The specifications must be met at least once on three of the five measurement days. If they don’t, the reduction claim applies. Conversely, the consumer advice center considers it “incomprehensible” that only three out of 30 tests could be sufficient for the network to be rated as sufficient. The measurement tool is becoming “a toothless tiger,” Pop complains, pointing out that discrepancies between claims and reality in the telecommunications sector have been a consumer nuisance for a long time.

No differences between town and country

Pop demands that the tests not only reach 10 to 25 percent, but 90 percent of the contractually guaranteed maximum bandwidth. In addition, she is against a differentiation between town and country because this contradicts the idea of ​​a nationwide mobile Internet service.

The Internet industry association VATM takes a different view and warns against exaggerated specifications. VATM Managing Director Jürgen Grützner points out that the network operator only has a very limited influence on the utilization of a radio cell. “It is not really possible to make a professionally justifiable reference to an individual fitting from a technical maximum value under optimal conditions.” When signing the contract, the users are “quite aware that this maximum value cannot be achieved everywhere in every situation, at any time, at any base station and with any capacity utilization”.

The association representative also emphasizes that mobile phone coverage in closed rooms is different – whether under the roof or in the basement. In addition, it is clear that frequencies are used in rural areas that achieve the best possible area coverage with lower bandwidths. There is “not the expectation on the part of customers that the network could provide the maximum bandwidth everywhere at the same time”. That would not be in the interests of the customer anyway, because the prices would then “have to rise enormously”.

After the key issues paper, the Federal Network Agency will present the draft of a general decree in the next few months, which will be decided after a consultation phase with market participants. It will be a while before consumers can use the mobile phone measurement tool to claim their reduction.

Federal Network Agency on the right of reduction

dpa