Trouble with the mobile network in Bavaria: Aiwanger demands fines – Bavaria

The Bavarian Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) has accused the mobile network operators of having incomplete coverage. Current measurements along around 5,000 kilometers of federal roads and railway lines in Bavaria showed: “The network operators do not meet the requirements in the Free State,” said Aiwanger on Monday. The Federal Network Agency must now “examine penalties to the network operators”.

Since the turn of the year, mobile phone users have had to be supplied with at least 100 Mbit per second on most federal roads and railway lines. This is technically possible on 98 percent of the controlled federal roads and 96 percent of the railway lines in the Free State. Deutsche Telekom performed best in the measurements commissioned by the ministry: It met the requirements by around 90 percent. Vodafone got 89 and 82 percent, Telefonica (O2) only 82 and 79 percent.

The specialists from the Munich electronics company Rohde & Schwarz, commissioned by the ministry, found particularly low fulfillment rates on some routes, for example: Munich Ostbahnhof – Freilassing (telefonica 62 percent), Nuremberg – Hof (telefonica 65 percent), Plattling – Bayerisch Eisenstein (vodafone 67 percent). ) or on the Lindau – Ulm railway line (telephonica 67 percent).

If there were no legal and factual obstacles to the expansion, the legal requirements would not be met for the second time in a row, said Aiwanger. However, there is one important restriction: “With the new offsetting clause, the expansion of all network operators can be added together. If a section is supplied by one network operator, the condition is considered fulfilled.” This would actually give them 98 and 96 percent coverage. “However, this addition is of no use to the customer, because no operator delivers nationwide and continuously and no one has three different SIM cards in the device,” criticized Aiwanger. “What remains is a patchwork quilt.”

A Telefonica spokeswoman said her company had “fulfilled the supply requirements of the Federal Network Agency in all federal states”. The measurements were taken by December 3rd – but in December Telefónica completed more than 100 construction measures and thus further improved the supply. Aiwanger demanded that the next frequency awards in 2025 would have to go through tenders. Auctions would bring the state a lot of money, but not optimal care for the citizens. In the future, the money must flow directly into the expansion: Whoever is awarded the contract must commit to expanding the network. Digital Minister Judith Gerlach said: “We also need a good mobile phone connection at every milk can”. The state government has simplified the approval process, now the network operators have to meet their obligations.

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