Large countries, particularly in Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Bavaria, are still waiting for a minimum supply connection despite the right to fast internet. The Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) has concluded that telecommunications services are undersupplied in 12 cases as of March, but there have been no orders issued to providers to resolve the problem within the planned time frame. The BNetzA received 2,384 submissions about alleged undersupply between June 2022 and mid-April 2023.
Between December 2021 and March 30, 2023, the BNetzA processed 1,966 of the total of 3,438 reports, and 1,472 were still being processed at the end of March. Only in the dozen cases was the conclusion that no provider could provide an appropriate internet connection. In these cases, the assessment referred solely to an upload data rate that was too low or a delay that was too high.
No companies have submitted voluntary commitments to meet the claims of those affected. The deadlines for resolving the issue are clearly regulated by law. Telecommunications providers are allowed one month to offer to supply affected households voluntarily. If no company makes an offer, the authority should oblige one or more providers within four months to provide the affected households with a telecommunications connection and to offer associated services.
According to the TKMV, which came into effect in June, the speed provided must be at least 10 Mbit/s for downloads and 1.7 Mbit/s for uploads with a maximum latency of 150 milliseconds (ms). From mid-2023, the federal government wants to increase the minimum download bandwidth to at least 15 megabits per second and the minimum upload bandwidth. The BNetzA is currently months behind schedule and has yet to issue the first corresponding instructions to obligate providers.
