Right to “fast” Internet: Federal Council votes for higher minimum bandwidth

On Friday, the Federal Council voted in favor of the draft of the first amendment to the Regulation on the minimum requirements for the right to provision of telecommunications services (TKMV). Accordingly, the minimum bandwidth of Internet access service will be increased from 10 to 15 Mbit/s for download and 1.7 to 5 Mbit/s for upload. The digital committee of the Bundestag had cleared the way for this in October. The latency value remains 150 milliseconds. This change is expected to be implemented by the end of this year or early 2025.

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The federal government actually promised the Federal Council in 2022 that it would step up the pace of legal authorization by mid-2023. But the process got delayed due to evaluation and receiving reports, which the digital ministry insisted on.

In addition to singles, multi-person households are particularly likely to benefit from the adjustments, the Federal Network Agency says. The new minimum supply offers “high performance and flexibility”, which is noticeable, for example, in video conferences, online teaching or the simultaneous use of multiple devices. Due to increasing requirements, the monthly price of basic services will also increase. In the future it should be around 35 euros per month. In general, charges are based “on the evolution of prices for telecommunications services”.

So far the claims of four houses have been confirmed

“We regularly adjust the minimum supply,” assured Klaus Müller, chairman of the Federal Network Agency. “It’s like the minimum wage: Most people have more, but no one should have to go below it.” Even if there is a lower limit, it could improve personal and business use of the Internet and online services. In November, at the insistence of the Bundestag’s Digital Committee, the regulatory authority placed online an easy-to-use contact form for the right to a minimum supply of telecommunications services.

Many citizens have not yet benefited from the entitlements created in 2021. It was only in March that the Federal Network Agency intervened for the first time and in May forced a provider to provide Internet to a home in Germany on the basis of regulation. now he has Three more commitments made for three homes in Bavaria (till November). In the period from June 1, 2022 to September 30, 2024, the authority received 6,187 submissions regarding potential short supply. At the beginning of November, 107 applications were being processed. Based on a report and a data query, the network agency has pegged about 1.8 million addresses as “potentially underserved” – initially thought to be only around 330,000 homes.

(MKI)