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| Internet Speeds Fail to Meet Promises in Germany, Study Shows | Internet Speeds Fail to Meet Promises in Germany, Study Shows |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| BERLIN — A government study released Thursday supports what many German consumers have long suspected: Internet broadband service is much slower than advertised. | BERLIN — A government study released Thursday supports what many German consumers have long suspected: Internet broadband service is much slower than advertised. |
| The study by the German telecommunications regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur, measured the Internet connection speeds of 250,000 consumers from June through December last year, making it one of the largest reviews of broadband service anywhere. | The study by the German telecommunications regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur, measured the Internet connection speeds of 250,000 consumers from June through December last year, making it one of the largest reviews of broadband service anywhere. |
| The results showed that only 15.7 percent of those using fixed telephone lines and 21 percent using mobile devices achieved the advertised maximum speeds. | The results showed that only 15.7 percent of those using fixed telephone lines and 21 percent using mobile devices achieved the advertised maximum speeds. |
| Nearly half of German consumers using the supposedly fastest wireless broadband networks, which run Long Term Evolution technology, received Internet service at speeds that were no more than half as fast as the advertised maximum, the regulator found. | Nearly half of German consumers using the supposedly fastest wireless broadband networks, which run Long Term Evolution technology, received Internet service at speeds that were no more than half as fast as the advertised maximum, the regulator found. |
| The German report is believed to mirror the results of an even broader study being compiled by the European Commission on broadband performance across the 27-nation bloc. According to a person with knowledge of the commission’s study, which is in the final review stages, it found that operators were largely failing to deliver on promises of broadband speeds across Europe. | |
| For consumers, slower connection speeds can make for the correspondingly sluggish execution of nearly every click while using an Internet browser, resulting in delays in summoning Web sites or interruptions of streaming video, for example. | |
| The study is significant because Germany was one of the first countries in Europe to adopt high-speed, Long Term Evolution service on a national basis. | The study is significant because Germany was one of the first countries in Europe to adopt high-speed, Long Term Evolution service on a national basis. |
| In Europe, and in the rest of the world, telecom operators are not legally bound to provide broadband service at a specified rate of speed. Most advertise service in packages with speeds of “up to” a certain level, which in Germany can range from 2 to 50 megabits a second. | In Europe, and in the rest of the world, telecom operators are not legally bound to provide broadband service at a specified rate of speed. Most advertise service in packages with speeds of “up to” a certain level, which in Germany can range from 2 to 50 megabits a second. |
| Attempts in Brussels to include a legal “minimum speed” obligation on European operators have so far been rebuffed by the telecommunications industry. | |
| Jochen Homann, the Bundesnetzagentur president, said in a statement that he planned to begin a “dialogue” with operators to improve the accuracy of their advertising claims. | Jochen Homann, the Bundesnetzagentur president, said in a statement that he planned to begin a “dialogue” with operators to improve the accuracy of their advertising claims. |
| The German market is dominated by four main operators — Deutsche Telekom, which runs the former fixed-line monopoly and the mobile market leader, T-Mobile, and the mobile carriers Vodafone; O2, a unit of Telefónica; and E-Plus, owned by the Dutch operator KPN. | |
| Philipp Blank, a Deutsche Telekom spokesman in Bonn, said technical reasons prevented operators from guaranteeing a specific broadband speed to each customer. The quality of a land-line connection is influenced by the length of the copper wire from a home to the phone junction box in the street, with longer connections leading to slower speeds, he said. | |
| With mobile broadband, the level of traffic flowing over a single base station can significantly affect individual performance. Deutsche Telekom gives each customer a “very narrow range” of their expected broadband speed based on an analysis of local wiring, and consumers can void newly signed contracts for two weeks without penalty if they are unsatisfied, Mr. Blank said. | |
| “For physical and technical reasons, we simply have to offer customers some kind of range of speeds in our tariffs,” Mr. Blank said. | “For physical and technical reasons, we simply have to offer customers some kind of range of speeds in our tariffs,” Mr. Blank said. |
| A spokesman for the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association, a Brussels group representing operators, said it would not comment until it had read the study. | |
| Michael Bobrowski, a spokesman for the Verbraucherzentral Bundesverband, the Federation of German Consumer Organizations, said he was skeptical that the regulator would be able to wring concessions from operators. | Michael Bobrowski, a spokesman for the Verbraucherzentral Bundesverband, the Federation of German Consumer Organizations, said he was skeptical that the regulator would be able to wring concessions from operators. |
| “This study is not surprising because we have known this to be the situation for years,” Mr. Bobrowski said. “We called for operators to stop doing this back in 2008, but none have done anything. So I’m not sure what voluntary agreements will achieve.” | “This study is not surprising because we have known this to be the situation for years,” Mr. Bobrowski said. “We called for operators to stop doing this back in 2008, but none have done anything. So I’m not sure what voluntary agreements will achieve.” |
| Mr. Bobrowski agreed there were technical constraints that made it difficult for operators to guarantee broadband speeds. But the main reason for the discrepancy between advertised speed and performance is the operators’ advertising policies, he added. | |
| “It’s the competitive situation,” Mr. Bobrowski said. “They are all trying to win customers by promising very enticing speeds. The problem is that consumers cannot verify in advance what kind of speeds they will ultimately receive.” | “It’s the competitive situation,” Mr. Bobrowski said. “They are all trying to win customers by promising very enticing speeds. The problem is that consumers cannot verify in advance what kind of speeds they will ultimately receive.” |
| Mr. Bobrowski said that operators should be required to provide binding guarantees in service contracts. | Mr. Bobrowski said that operators should be required to provide binding guarantees in service contracts. |
| Mr. Homann, the German regulatory chief, said he hoped to convince operators to offer a more narrow range of speeds in their broadband advertising. | Mr. Homann, the German regulatory chief, said he hoped to convince operators to offer a more narrow range of speeds in their broadband advertising. |
| “I am very hopeful that Internet providers will make an effort to provide the necessary transparency over what an Internet connection can deliver — and what it can’t,” Mr. Homann said. “Customers should be able to better evaluate the quality of their Internet connections.” | “I am very hopeful that Internet providers will make an effort to provide the necessary transparency over what an Internet connection can deliver — and what it can’t,” Mr. Homann said. “Customers should be able to better evaluate the quality of their Internet connections.” |
| A change in Germany’s main telecommunications law last year gave the regulator the power to improve the “transparency” of telecommunications products. But whether that mandate would let the regulator impose “minimum speed” obligations, which would set a global precedent, is unclear and could be legally challenged by operators. |