Bundesnetzagentur publishes 2021/2022 annual report on broadband speed tests
Date of issue 2023.03.15
Today the Bundesnetzagentur has again published detailed results of its broadband speed tests.
"The results are still not yet satisfactory. Customers often do not achieve the promised internet speeds,"
said Klaus Müller, President of the Bundesnetzagentur. "Using our broadband speed checker, affected consumers can prove reduced fixed broadband performance to assert their rights against their providers."
Results for fixed broadband connections
The proportion of fixed broadband users across all bandwidth categories and providers whose connection had a download speed of at least half their contractually agreed maximum speed was 84.4%. The proportion of users whose connection had a speed equivalent to or higher than their contractually agreed maximum speed was 42.3%.
The results varied between the individual bandwidth categories and providers. There are some very large differences between the absolute speeds measured, which also depend on the technology. For the first time the report also includes gigabit-speed connections, which is why in terms of aggregated values no comparison can be made with the previous year, which only looked at connections up to 500 mbps.
Most end-users (78.2%) were satisfied with the performance of their broadband connection (a rating of 1 to 3 on a scale of 1 to 6, with 1 being the highest). Fewer than 11% of end-users gave their connection a rating of 5 or 6.
Results for mobile broadband connections
For mobile broadband connections general performance was again considerably lower than for fixed broadband. The proportion of users across all bandwidth categories and providers whose connection had a download speed of at least half their contractually agreed estimated maximum speed was 23.2% (2020/2021: 20.1%). The proportion of users whose connection had a speed equivalent to or higher than their contractually agreed estimated maximum speed was 3.0% (2020/2021: 2.6%).
In the higher bandwidth categories percentage figures were generally lower as regards achieving the contractually agreed estimated maximum speeds. As with fixed broadband, there are differences between the providers also for mobile broadband.
The large majority of end-users (70.8%) once again gave their providers a rating of 1 to 3, although in comparison with the previous 12 month period this percentage figure has declined (2020/2021: 75.7%). The fact that at the same time the speeds measured as a percentage of the contractually agreed speeds were again low still suggests that mobile broadband users rated mobility and absolute speeds higher than actually receiving their contractually agreed speeds.
Speed test results do not allow conclusions on broadband coverage
The test results depend on the tariffs agreed between the users and their providers. It is therefore not possible to draw conclusions from the broadband speed checker results about broadband coverage or the availability of broadband internet access. The tests only show if the providers supply their customers with the contractually agreed bandwidth.
Reduction
The new Telecommunications Act clearly strengthened consumer rights. If consumers do not receive the internet access performance agreed in their contract, they can reduce the monthly payment to their provider or make use of their extraordinary right to terminate their contract. This is dependent on there being a "significant, continuous or regularly recurring deviation in speed" between the actual and the contractually agreed internet performance.
To provide evidence of reduced performance of fixed broadband connections you may use the Bundesnetzagentur's desktop broadband speed checker app, which offers a so-called proof of performance procedure. A total of 30 tests have to be carried out across three different calendar days. At the end of the proof of performance procedure an electronic measurement log is created to assert the consumer's entitlement to a reduction of their monthly payment to their provider.
The desktop app can be downloaded at: https://breitbandmessung.de/desktop-app.
To also develop a proof of performance procedure for mobile broadband connections, the Bundesnetzagentur first presented proposals on the key elements of the planned proof of performance procedure for consultation last year. In the next step the Bundesnetzagentur plans to issue a general administrative order defining what constitutes reduced mobile broadband performance and to provide a monitoring mechanism for furnishing proof of reduced performance.
Further information on the annual report
The seventh annual report covers the period from 1 October 2021 to 30 September 2022. A total of 398,747 valid tests were made using the desktop app, while a total of 623,581 valid tests were conducted for mobile broadband connections (2020/2021: 441,233). Since including gigabit-speed connections has led to a change in methodology for fixed broadband connections, this year's results cannot be compared with previous years' results due to different test methods.
An executive summary (in German and English) has been published on the Bundesnetzagentur website at www.bundesnetzagentur.de/bbm-annualreport-21-22. The reports on fixed and mobile broadband connections are available in German at https://breitbandmessung.de/archiv-jahresberichte. A separate document provides explanations on the validation, the methodology used and the test results.
The interactive graphs and tables at https://breitbandmessung.de/interaktive-darstellung provide more detailed information and results relating to all providers.