Right to "fast" internet: Clear the way for more minimum bandwidth

After some delay, the Bundestag's Digital Committee approved the draft of a first amendment to the ordinance on the minimum requirements for the right to the provision of telecommunications services (TKMV) on Wednesday. The MPs had given their "consent" to the initiative, according to the parliament. According to this, the minimum bandwidths of an internet access service are to be increased from 10 to 15 MBit/s for downloads and from 1.7 to 5 MBit/s for uploads. The Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs had already agreed to this step beforehand, meaning that the reform can now come into force.

The change should now be implemented by the end of this year or early 2025 if possible, announced Digital State Secretary Daniela Kluckert (FDP) at the meeting. A motion for a resolution by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, which had called for higher bandwidths, did not receive a majority. In addition to the proposers, only the left-wing group voted in favor. During the discussion in the committee, speakers pointed out that consumers must continue to be comprehensively informed about the so-called right to fast internet and the possibilities of claiming it. The procedures for determining an undersupply were too lengthy. The contact form on the Federal Network Agency's website should also be made more user-friendly.

Thousands of households have registered a need

The Ampel parliamentary groups agreed in June to increase the minimum bandwidths. This should actually have been done much earlier: The Federal Government promised the Federal Council back in 2022 that it would increase the speeds associated with the legal entitlement in mid-2023. However, the Digital Ministry initially insisted that an amendment to the TKMV could only be initiated on the basis of an evaluation and the collection of expert opinions. Most recently, an update of the survey of the minimum data rates used in Germany was carried out.

So far, not many citizens have benefited from the entitlement created in 2021. It was only in March of this year that the Federal Network Agency intervened for the first time and in May obliged a provider to supply a household in Germany with internet based on the regulation. The regulatory authority initially put the number of households potentially affected by an undersupply at up to 330,000. According to the government, this figure has now "fallen due to improvements to the fixed network". Between June 2022 and February 2024 alone, the Federal Network Agency received a total of 5581 submissions about a potential undersupply. In 29 of these cases, it initially officially determined a corresponding deficit. In 13 cases, short-term coverage options via mobile or fixed network were reportedly created.

(mki)