Federal Minister for Transport and Digital Infrastructure Andreas Scheuer unveiled the new dead zone app today. The Federal Ministry for Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) commissioned the Federal Network Agency to enhance its existing app for broadband measurement to enable citizens to report areas without reception – easily and without red tape. The update is now available for free download in Google Play Store and Apple App Store for both Android and iOS.
Federal Minister Andreas Scheuer:
“With the new app, it’s now hunting season for ‘white spots’ in the mobile network. Citizens can now report places where they have had no reception. The app stores the location and transfers the data as soon as the mobile phone’s internet connection is restored. We will use this information to talk to mobile phone providers about where the network still needs improving. The situation as it stands today is intolerable for an economic nation. We need a full network coverage in Germany.”
Jochen Homann, President of the Federal Network Agency:
“The app that has now been made available is a first step. We have made it possible to measure and report dead zones. The results will be made public as a map in 2019. For this to happen, we need as much data as possible to be able to cover a large area. It is therefore my hope that users will make good use of the opportunity to measure network availability – as they already do to test broadband measurements – and thus lend us their support in our endeavour.”
The Federal Network Agency’s “broadband measurement” app is designed with user-friendliness in mind: the user starts a query by clicking the “Netzverfügbarkeit erfassen” (Measure network availability) button. From then on, the app measures whether there is network coverage at regular intervals of max. 50 metres, and whether this is provided by 2G, 3G or 4G technology. The measured route is displayed on a map.
When the user stops the measurement, the data, including place, time and mobile network provider, is sent to a central server. If there is no internet connection, the data is transferred once internet connection has been restored.
Once sufficient data is available, the Federal Network Agency will consolidate and publish it in a detailed map. A monitoring report on network coverage will also be presented each year.
The Federal Ministry for Transport and Digital Infrastructure is aiming to achieve full network coverage across Germany. The rules on the forthcoming 5G frequency allocation, which the Federal Network Agency is currently drawing up, will contribute to this.
The more people use the #FunklochApp (Dead zone app), the easier it will be to identify and eliminate #Funklöcher (Dead zones). Here, the developers explain how the app works.
The app was developed by zafaco GmbH for the Federal Network Agency.
The quickest way to get the app
Search the App Store on your smart phone for “Breitbandmessung” (Broadband measurement) or click here:
Load in Apple App Store.
Now in Google Play.