According to a network test, the quality of the data connections on the train has deteriorated significantly over the past year.
(Photo: picture alliance / dpa Themendie)
Dusseldorf Interrupted calls, no data connections: travelers in Germany are used to many problems with mobile communications. A new network test shows that the situation has in some cases even worsened despite the full-bodied promises of the providers. That is the result of the annual investigation of the magazine “Connect” together with the service provider Umlaut, which the Handelsblatt received in advance.
How big the problems are can be seen, for example, when viewing videos on the YouTube platform. The success rate at Telekom was only 89.7 percent.
In other words: in around one out of ten cases the video cannot be viewed – even though YouTube has a sophisticated system for reacting to poor data connections. In the previous year, the value for Telekom in this category was still at 90.5 Percent located.
Vodafone also deteriorated from 82.1 percent in the previous year to 81.9 percent. The provider Telefónica (brand O2) did particularly badly. After 89.4 percent in the previous year, the value in the current survey was only 77 percent. One reason: the railway rehabilitated a number of lines. Therefore trains were diverted – and the alternative routes were apparently poorer covered.
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There were also problems with data connections on rural roads or connecting roads. The success rate for calling up a YouTube video was 97.5 percent at Telekom this year. Thus, the Telekom worsened slightly compared to the previous year’s value of 97.7 percent. Vodafone improved slightly to 96.5 percent after 95.9 percent in the previous year. Telefónica, however, deteriorated significantly to 92.5 percent after 97.2 percent in the previous year.
The testers complained that “there is still a lot to do” in the country, especially for Telefónica. “Telekom and Vodafone also have a bit of work to do there.” Overall, however, all three providers were rated “very good” in the analysis. This has to do with the fact that the companies fared significantly better in terms of supply in large cities and small towns.
The problems on trains and in rural areas have long been known. This summer, Deutsche Telekom announced a cooperation with Deutsche Bahn to close the supply gaps. However, that will take years. By 2026, i.e. in five years, Telekom promises uninterrupted telephony in trains and reliable streaming for the first time.
The rail network covers a total of 33,400 kilometers. Telekom plans to supply the almost 8,000 kilometers of main traffic routes with download rates of 200 megabits per second by the end of 2024. The other routes come later.
Actually, the federal government had imposed it on all network operators to provide all main traffic routes with high-speed internet by the beginning of 2020. On Monday, the Federal Network Agency announced that this requirement has now been met. However – in the example of the railway – it only applies to around a quarter of the total route. And the Federal Network Agency sets specifications for the download speed on the cell phone antennas along the train routes. If an operator complies with the requirements, that does not mean that the passengers on the train also have a reliable connection.
More: Cell phone tests have become pointless, comments our author Stephan Scheuer