Internet users in Germany rarely receive the booked speeds. This is evident from the annual report on broadband measurement by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA). The results are similar to those from the previous year's report.

71.3 percent of subscribers who submitted their scores were at least half the promised rate, according to the report. The agreed with the provider maximum speed or more received only 12.8 percent.

The average lowest values ​​compared to the marketed speed were measured in terms of DSL connections, which according to advertising should deliver at least eight but less than 18 megabits per second.

The situation with the portable radio is not better

In mobile, the distances are even greater: Only at 16.1 percent of the measurements customers came to more than half of the agreed maximum speed. More speed than agreed, there were only 1.5 percent of the measurements.

"Customers across all bandwidth classes and providers often do not reach the maximum speed they were promised," said Jochen Homann, President of the Federal Network Agency. "Although the results vary for individual bandwidths and between providers, they show that there is still a need for action from broadband providers."

For the report, the Federal Network Agency had evaluated about 900,500 measurements of landline and almost 385,000 measurements of mobile phone connections made between October 2017 and October 2018 via the network agency's broadband measurement service.

Online speed test

Anyone can check on the website Breitbandmessung.de or by desktop app itself, whether the Internet speed is the promise of the provider. For the measurement to be valid, users must make at least 20 measurements on two different days. The computer should be connected via LAN cable to the router, so that WLAN interference as the cause of slow transmission speeds are excluded.

According to the Federal Network Agency, a connection that is too slow is:

  • not reached on two measuring days in each case at least once 90 percent of the contractually agreed maximum speed.
  • the normally available speed is not reached in 90 percent of the measurements.
  • the minimum speed, which the offerer promised in the contract, on at least two measuring days not reached.

The data transfer rate for mobile connections can be recorded and documented with an app for Android and iOS.

If the speed of the connection falls well short of the advertising promise, customers should contact the portal "Consumer Center" first to their provider and demand a rectification. "If nothing changes after a repeated request, you can cancel without notice and possibly even claim damages," the Consumer Affairs Center said.