ISMANING, 4 November 2020 – There are still gaps in mobile phone coverage in Germany, and they are only being closed slowly. On the other hand, significant improvements in performance can be seen for all candidates in all other important areas – stability, voice quality, mobile internet usage.
The best mobile phone providers in Germany
At the end of the extensive test, one thing was clear: Telekom defended its top position (overall grade: very good, 1.29). Vodafone improved to second place compared to the last test (overall grade: good, 1.57) and swapped positions with O2 Telefónica, which is now in third place (overall grade: good, 1.61). For the first time, IMTEST also tested the new provider 1&1. Since the share of own network availability in the measurements was below 2 per cent, it was decided to consider 1&1 outside the regular evaluation.
Five test dimensions
The results of the large-scale IMTEST mobile network test are based on three data collection levels: test drives in cities and the countryside, station measurements and user-based data (‘crowdsourcing’), which are collected by the Federal Network Agency and evaluated by zafaco. This allows both the technical performance of the networks and the real user experience to be mapped. The aspects examined are divided into five test dimensions:
Germany-wide test drives
For several weeks, from 27 August to 6 October 2020, test drivers covered more than 10,000 kilometres in 30 German cities, on motorways and country roads, thus covering the ‘mobile phone catchment area’ of around 15 million inhabitants. The nearly 200,000 test connections were then evaluated in the categories of telephony, data, surfing, streaming and social media, using a total of 30 parameters.
Voice quality between mobile and fixed network:
In contrast to other mobile network tests, more than 85,000 test connections were established between mobile and fixed networks throughout Germany. The measurements provided data on voice quality for calls between mobile and fixed networks – in both directions.
For classification purposes: 20 per cent of outgoing mobile voice traffic in 2023 was routed to national fixed networks. Conversely, around 8.4 per cent of incoming calls were from the fixed network. The evaluation was carried out according to an internationally recognised method for measuring voice quality with the unwieldy name ITU-T Standard P.863 (POLQA).
Voice quality between mobile network operators
In contrast to many other mobile phone tests, the call quality between mobile networks was also examined, not only within a network, but also between different network operators. Around 90,000 test calls were evaluated in a total of 21 categories.
Transmission speed
Once again, the mobile phone test included the user-based evaluations of the broadband measurement by the Federal Network Agency. Above all, they provide information on the extent to which the transmission speeds promised by the respective network operators are being met.
Network availability
The data on network availability is also user-based. The Breitbandmessung app is specifically designed for this purpose, and can be used to determine the proportion of dead spots and the availability of the fast 4G and 5G networks. A total of 117 million measurement points were analysed for the IMTEST mobile network test in the period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024.
Development of network quality
Christoph Sudhues, founder and managing partner of zafaco GmbH, explains: ‘The network quality of the three mobile providers Telekom, Vodafone and O2 Telefónica has continued to improve in recent years. Despite the recent market entry of 1&1 as the fourth provider, whose own network is not yet as well developed and which changed its national roaming partner in August 2024, 1&1 is still showing solid and good results.’
All the detailed results are available at IMTEST.de. For further information about the test, please contact netztest(at)zafaco.de.
About zafaco GmbH
zafaco GmbH, based in Ismaning, Germany, specialises in recording, testing, securing and optimising quality aspects in convergent networks and Internet-based applications. The company carries out independent comparative measurements and quality assessments objectively, expertly, neutrally and using recognised methods with its own measurement infrastructure.
The products and services provide clarity and greater market transparency, benefiting providers and consumers alike.
About IMTEST
IMTEST is Germany's largest consumer magazine and offers weekly reliable consumer tests on products from coffee machines to smartphones to internet connections in all daily newspapers of the FUNKE Mediengruppe. These tests are available online daily at www.imtest.de.
Background
For more than 15 years, zafaco GmbH has been providing trustworthy and reliable network tests, which it conducts according to national and international standards. Among other things, the company developed the broadband measurement for the Federal Network Agency (https://breitbandmessung.de) and has been operating it ever since.
The tests are based on a high-performance infrastructure: the specially tailored platform has received multiple awards and consists of flexible, future-proof hardware and software. zafaco's products are scientifically monitored by universities and research institutions.
zafaco GmbH is certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001:2015 and stands for quality, reliability and customer satisfaction.