The so-called right to fast internet is very likely to be delayed.
The federal cabinet postponed a cabinet consultation that was actually planned for this week until the end of April.
The departmental coordination is still ongoing, said a spokeswoman for the Federal Digital Ministry.
From June 1st, the requirements for a legal entitlement are to apply, which also requires the green light from a Bundestag committee and the Bundesrat.
The institutions only have a few meeting dates during the month, at which experts are also supposed to be heard.
In addition, the responsible politicians need consultation time.
According to the opposition Union faction in the Bundestag, this schedule is no longer tenable – and industry circles also say that it will be “very, very tight”.
The traffic light coalition "idled away with its first real project in the field of digital infrastructure," says deputy parliamentary group leader Nadine Schön (CDU).
The change in the Telecommunications Act at the end of 2021 gave German citizens a legal right to broadband Internet in the fixed network for the first time.
The exact level of this lower limit is regulated by an ordinance, the draft of which was presented by the Federal Network Agency in March.
According to the proposal, a download speed of at least 10 megabits per second should be possible anywhere in Germany.
In the vast majority of households, much more is currently possible, but access to the Internet is sometimes even worse in rural areas and on the outskirts of town – so a minimum would help the residents there.
You could assert a legal claim with the Federal Network Agency and demand better internet access - after that the Bonn authority could arrange for the laying of lines.
What is also positive about the right to fast internet is that it is based on average internet usage in Germany.
Since the network expansion is progressing overall and users are booking better and better contracts, the minimum applicable for the legal claim will also increase year by year.