Broadband minimum: Federal Network Agency launches check tool for citizens

An internet connection for digital participation is no longer just a privilege in Germany, but a legally enshrined right. However, theory and practice often still diverge when it comes to broadband expansion. To increase transparency for consumers, the Federal Network Agency launched a new digital market surveillance tool on Friday. The application is intended to determine in less than a minute whether the legally defined minimum supply is potentially available at one's own residential address or whether a claim for state intervention exists.

The online tool, now activated, is based on the “Right to supply of telecommunications services,” which is anchored in the Telecommunications Act (TKG) and designed to be “technology-neutral”. It is intended to ensure that every household has access to a minimum level of voice communication and a functioning internet connection. There is no legal claim to a specific line technology.

The legislator has only recently raised the bar for this minimum for the so-called right to fast internet. An internet connection must currently provide a minimum download rate of 15 megabytes per second (Mbit/s) and an upload rate of 5 Mbit/s. The latency, i.e., the delay time in data transmission, is also clearly defined with a limit value of 150 milliseconds.

Precise analysis on 100-meter grid cells

Users can enter their exact address and receive the result on a map that divides Germany into grid cells of 100 by 100 meters. The color coding follows a simple traffic light system. A green marking indicates that, according to the Federal Network Agency's data, all households in this cell are potentially supplied.

If, on the other hand, the cell appears red, it indicates a possible undersupply. The algorithm considers both line-based technologies such as DSL, cable, or fiber optics, as well as mobile supply via the radio network. However, there is an important limitation in the current test phase: the map does not yet display possible supply via satellite.

The Federal Network Agency emphasizes that this is a test version. It relies on user feedback to validate the data basis and continuously improve the application. Anyone who finds during the query that their location is marked in red or that the actual performance deviates significantly from the theoretical values is directly led to a contact form via the tool. The regulatory authority already revised this at the end of 2024 to remove obstacles.

Further steps

Significant for the legal classification is the note that the mere display on the map does not yet constitute an automatic obligation for the providers or an immediate legal basis for compensation. Rather, the application serves as an initial orientation aid and evidence preservation for consumers. If the suspicion of an undersupply is confirmed in the subsequent procedure, the Federal Network Agency can oblige the providers to establish adequate supply within clearly defined deadlines.

Not many citizens have benefited from the rights created in 2021 yet. Only in March 2024 did the regulator intervene for the first time and obliged a provider in May to supply a household in Germany with internet based on the regulation. Meanwhile, it has issued several other such obligations. The tool is now intended to become a central instrument of market surveillance. It could increase pressure on network operators to close the last “white spots” in the German broadband landscape.

(mma)