2024-03-12 20:31:27
Fast internet is a must these days. But in some places this is still a wishful thinking. For the first time, an authority is now getting involved.
For the first time, the Federal Network Agency has obliged an internet provider to provide a remote household in Germany with internet. The Federal Network Agency announced on Monday in Bonn that a corresponding notice had been sent to the company.
It’s about a household in Lower Saxony – where exactly was not disclosed, nor was the name of the company concerned. In addition to landline providers such as Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone, the satellite internet provider Starlink is also an option.
The right to fast internet
The budget in question refers to the “right to fast internet”, which was introduced by the black-red government coalition under Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU). However, the legally guaranteed line is not really fast; the download must reach at least ten megabits per second, the upload must reach 1.7 megabits and the latency (response time) must be a maximum of 150 milliseconds.
The current decision is the first order of its kind, and others are likely to follow soon. According to the Federal Network Agency, around 130 complaint procedures are currently being examined. According to the authority, there are currently an estimated 400,000 households in Germany that are considered underserved within the scope of the legal entitlement.
30 euros per month allowed
The law stipulates that Internet access must be “affordable” – according to the federal authority’s ideas, the line must not be more expensive than around 30 euros per month.
In the affected household’s complaint process, several providers were asked whether they wanted to provide Internet access at this price. Nobody took action. The network agency then issued an order against which a lawsuit is possible. It is still unclear when the household in question will get relatively good internet.
Federal Network Agency President Klaus Müller emphasized that every citizen has the right to adequate care. “Adequate internet and telephone service is essential in everyday professional and private life.” This right is now being enforced in the interests of consumers in a pilot procedure.
Consumer advocates are dissatisfied
Consumer advocates rated the network agency’s decision positively, but also expressed criticism. “It is fundamentally good that an obligation is made and the legal right to the Internet is used,” said Felix Flosbach from the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center. However, he criticized the fact that the authorities were only taking action now. “It has been more than two years in which the citizens had nothing of the legal right.”
The minimum level is too low. “Ten megabits in the download is by no means fast internet.” He had expected the minimum level to increase year after year. “It is unfortunate that the Federal Network Agency has not already increased from ten to 15 or 20 megabits per second, after all, the Internet as a whole in Germany is getting better and better.”
When asked why the minimum level is still only ten megabits per second, a spokeswoman for the Federal Network Agency said: “We are evaluating the values in order to make a possible adjustment to the minimum supply.” The minimum values are expected to increase in autumn, and will probably be at least 15 megabits per second for downloads. Then the number of households that could use the legal right increases.
Consumer advocate Flosbach is in favor of a significant increase in order to increase the pressure on Internet providers and stimulate nationwide Internet expansion. “The right to the Internet must become an effective tool to strengthen rural areas and enable them to participate in the digital age.”
The excavators don’t always have to start rolling
The Internet industry is currently investing heavily in the expansion of fiber optic connections, which enable very fast and stable connections: these offer 1,000 megabits per second or even more access to the network. This makes it clear that the ten megabit bar for legal entitlement is set comparatively low.
However, fiber optic expansion is primarily taking place where there are many houses, i.e. in cities or large villages. This is not worthwhile in sparsely populated areas, where the legal claim can certainly be of help to the residents. But it hasn’t been used yet – that’s now changing.