Good internet comes at a price – the more a household pays, the better the service. At least that’s the theory. But in practice, expensive landlines are sometimes amazingly slow – because the provider doesn’t deliver what it promises.
Fixed network Internet is in many cases significantly worse than contractually agreed. As the Federal Network Agency informed the German Press Agency on request, consumers have received almost 15,000 so-called measurement protocols as part of a reduction right that has been in effect since December.
A reduction claim was found “almost exclusively” – the service was so bad that the consumers were entitled to a lower payment. The logs do not state how high the reduction is – consumers should clarify this with their providers. Netzagentur boss Klaus Müller said they were pleased that the measuring tool “breitbandmessung.de” was being well received.
Right of reduction strengthens consumers
Internet tariffs contain a product information sheet in which the provider specifies the maximum, minimum and data rates normally available. There must be no “significant, continuous or regularly recurring deviation” from these requirements, as a law states.
However, the results of the measurements show deficits from which legal claims can be derived. Most often it is about the normally available transmission speed. In addition, the download is more affected than the upload.
The still relatively new right to reduce prices strengthens the role of the consumer vis-à-vis his provider, and the measurement tool required for this has been available since mid-December. The desktop app “breitbandmessung.de” provides information as to whether the landline at home meets the requirements and whether the deviations are so great that consumers are entitled to a price reduction.
Measurement protocol with strict specifications
Similar measurements via the app of Federal Network Agency had already existed in previous years, they had also revealed shortcomings. A legal claim did not result from the older measurements – this has only been the case for about three months.
In order to get a measurement protocol, a total of 30 measurements on 3 different calendar days are required under the new law. There should be at least five minutes between the measurements, or at least three hours between the fifth and sixth measurement of the day. The total period for the “measurement campaign” – as the prescribed series of 30 tests is called – must not be longer than two weeks. These specifications make it clear that consumers have to be really serious about the check – you don’t get the measurement protocol just by the way.
On the one hand, the network agency announced that almost 15,000 measurement campaigns were completed in the period from mid-December to the end of February and that consumers then received a log. On the other hand, about three times as many campaigns were started but not completed. It is unclear why so many consumers dropped out of a campaign before the 30th and final measurement.
Also read: How to really prove that your internet is too slow and get your money back
Reductions possible – providers have been reluctant to date
And how did Internet providers react to the first figures on the new reduction law? A spokesman for Deutsche Telekom said that relatively few measurement logs are currently being received from customers. In the past two months it has been an average of ten per day. “We always look for an accommodating solution,” he said. “If a claim arises after the cause of the measurement result has been clarified, we will of course grant a reduction on the monthly amount.” The contribution varies depending on the customer and contract.
Vodafone announced that so far “few” customers had made use of the right to a reduction. “We do not publish figures on this,” said a spokesman.
Consumer advocates evaluated the figures on the right to a reduction as evidence of a large gap between claims and reality on the domestic Internet. Around 15,000 complete measurement campaigns within two and a half months are “not inconsiderable”, after all the effort is high, said Felix Flosbach from the consumer advice center in North Rhine-Westphalia. The number of consumers who obtain information on the subject from the advice centers is constantly increasing.
Policy for more dialogue and transparency with providers
The consumer advocate complained that the amount of the claim was not clear – fixed-line users would have to decide for themselves after viewing the protocol how much less they wanted to pay. The telecommunications providers then often only offer a small price reduction and do not explain how they came up with the amount. “More transparency of the provider would be helpful,” said Flosbach.
In fact, the situation for consumers could soon improve. Because Federal Network Agency President Müller said that his authority was “in the interest of customers in dialogue with the industry in order to achieve simplified compensation models”.
The digital policy spokesman for the Greens in the Bundestag, Maik Außendorf, expects the number of users of “breitbandmessung.de” to increase, as this instrument is gaining in popularity. As the vast majority of the approximately 15,000 measurement protocols that were issued showed, the users paid “for a bandwidth that they ultimately did not receive,” said the politician. “This is unacceptable and shows that this consumer protection tool is long overdue.”