Nationwide measurement campaign restarted

The Federal Network Agency today once again launched a nationwide measurement campaign enabling Internet users to check the speed of their broadband connection. Until the end of the year, the exact data rate of each connection can be tested on the website www.initiative-netzqualitaet.de.

The results of the measurements are included in a second study on the service quality of Internet access in Germany, which is currently being conducted by zafaco.

The Federal Network Agency already carried out a similar campaign last year and published their results in April 2013.

“The results of that test confirmed the high number of customer complaints about discrepancies between the contractually agreed bandwidth and that actually delivered. Across all technologies, products and providers, the participating users often did not measure the bandwidth that was proffered by the providers as the maximum possible. With just under a quarter of a million evaluated measurements, the first measurement study was based on a very large data base. “I hope that the Internet users actively participate again this year and we thus achieve a reliable picture of the actual capacities available everywhere in Germany”, stressed Jochen Homann, President of the Federal Network Agency.

The second measurement study also examines how frequently and to what extent the data transfer rate actually achieved deviates from the “up to” bandwidth specified in the contract. In so doing, various technologies and regional differences are also taken into account. The Federal Network Agency hopes that the new measurements will provide conclusions about possible improvements since last year. The results of the study are to be published after completion of the measurements.