"Right to fast internet" can now be claimed using new form

The Federal Network Agency is making it easier for those affected to apply for the "right to fast Internet". To this end, it has put a revised contact form online in which it provides information on the procedure and its requirements. In addition, the tool now makes it possible to submit an application with just a few clicks. The Bundestag's Digital Committee had previously called for the relevant resources on the regulatory authority's website to be made "more user-oriented".

Via the redesigned form, the Network Agency provides information to support those affected "in the event of a lack of or insufficient supply of telecommunications services". Applicants must confirm under the "Requirements" tab, for example, that they want to receive a minimum supply of currently 10 Mbit/s in download, 1.7 Mbit/s in upload with a delay (latency) of 150 milliseconds. They should agree that the potential service "is provided independently of a specific technical solution". For example, there is no entitlement to a fiber optic connection. Rather, a supply via mobile radio or satellite Internet is also an option.

Interested parties must also confirm that they have "already comprehensively checked" whether they could conclude a regular contract with a telecommunications provider for the provision of Internet and telephone services. They must agree to an "affordable price of 30 euros" per month when using the minimum offer at their own place of residence. For business use, however, the law does not stipulate a price limit, it continues. The Federal Network Agency reserves the right to "request suitable evidence in due course or to request it from the responsible authorities within the scope of its official investigative powers, in compliance with data protection regulations".

Minimum bandwidths to increase soon

The Chair of the Digital Committee, Tabea Rößner from the Green Party, welcomed the move. "The bandwidths will soon increase," she added. 15 MBit/s for downloads and 5 MBit/s for uploads should be possible in the future. The change is scheduled to be implemented at the end of this year or early 2025. The corresponding decision was made before the traffic lights were switched off. At the same time, Rößner criticized: "There is still a lack of information material for offline users who want to go online."

Not many citizens have yet benefited from the entitlement created in 2021. The Federal Network Agency only intervened for the first time in March and in May obliged a provider to supply a household in Germany with internet because of the relevant regulation. The regulatory authority initially put the number of households potentially affected by an undersupply at up to 330,000. According to the German government, this figure has now "fallen due to improvements in the fixed network". Many submissions have so far not survived an examination of the basis for claims by the regulator.

(nie)