„Im besten Netz“: Telekom changes network identifier on millions of smartphones

Mobile customers of Deutsche Telekom have recently been seeing a new, moving network identifier with the message „Im besten Netz“ in the left corner of their smartphone screen. According to Telekom, this is intentional.

The changed network identifier is part of a 360-degree advertising campaign „for its powerful networks“, explains the telecommunications company. In addition to the advertisement on the smartphone, Telekom is promoting its network with a new commercial featuring the song „What The World Needs Now Is Love“ and various motifs.

Customer complaints

However, the advertising campaign directly on the mobile users' devices is apparently not well received. „Hello, this smartphone display ‚Im besten Netz‘ instead of ‚Telekom‘ made me extremely uneasy this morning, I thought it was a hacker attack that had accessed all the data and then left this notice,“ writes a bewildered Telekom customer under the announcement of Telekom's network identifier change.

Another customer also complains about the „fail“ that his iPhone is not an advertising space for the marketing department and would have appreciated advance notice, for example „via SMS or in the MeinMagenta app“. On Reddit too, some users are complaining about the new display: „I'm already paying for the product, so I don't need unwanted advertising.“

Under an announcement post about the change on Instagram, customers are wondering when the old display will return, as they feel disturbed by the rolling advertisement. However, the new advertisement cannot be turned off. According to Telekom, the changed network identifier is initially intended to remain for four weeks, after which a decision on an extension will be made. On Instagram, among other places, they are happy to be on the go „Im besten Netz“.

Not on all devices

According to Telekom, the temporary display was distributed via an over-the-air update (OTA) to smartphones. For „technical and conceptual reasons“, the display cannot be shown on all devices. The technical implementation required an update of the SIM profile, „which does not support all tariffs, device types or brands“, according to Telekom.

According to current figures, Deutsche Telekom has a 5G network coverage of almost 90 percent. Vodafone was at 75 percent and Telefónica at 76.1 percent at the end of 2025. The two companies were able to significantly improve their coverage. Overall, mobile broadband coverage, i.e. coverage by at least 4G or 5G, has now grown to approximately 98 percent of the country.

(afl)