In the most recent test, all three network operators received a “very good” rating. That makes the tests little informative.
(Photo: imago images / Michael Gstettenbauer)
Dusseldorf Germany wants to be a leading digital nation. The network operators like to refer to themselves as the architects of this change. After all, with their infrastructure, they provide the lifelines of the digital world. However, supply is patchy on trains and in the countryside. This state of affairs is an oath of disclosure for an industrial nation like Germany.
Anyone who travels a lot in Germany by train or car can tell painful stories. Conversations on the phone break off. Data connections do not even come about. Even those who are traveling between major cities in Germany cannot make reliable calls.
Although these problems have been known for years, little has changed about them. The Federal Network Agency had obliged the network operators to ensure a reliable connection along the main transport routes by the beginning of 2020.
Officially, the operators have been complying with this requirement since this week. But that says little. Because the authority only checks whether the performance of the antennas along the main traffic routes is sufficient. Whether and how much ultimately reaches customers in the train or car is a completely different topic.
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Deutsche Telekom made a full-bodied promise in the summer that in future its customers would be able to make calls and surf the Internet on all railway lines in Germany. However, the group does not want to meet the target until the end of 2026. In its advertising announcement, Telekom admits that some regional routes will then have reception for the first time.
Pointless cell phone tests
This is not an advertisement. This is an admission of your own failure. It is unbelievable that we still have such glaring problems in cellular communications today. The network operators are happy to blame the railways for this. After all, trains can interfere with cell phone reception. Ultimately, however, it is a question of will. Because of course there are technical solutions for these challenges.
Switzerland shows how it works. The topography of the country with many high mountains, valleys and tunnels is much more challenging for mobile communications than the situation in Germany. Nevertheless, the Swiss networks have performed much better than the German networks for years.
In the most recent test by the service provider Umlaut and the magazine “Connect”, Switzerland was once again excellent, while in Germany the supply along the railway lines had in some cases even deteriorated. And this even though the cell phone operators roughly know the times for the tests and in these phases they prettify their networks, for example by postponing the replacement of antennas.
Ultimately, there is a lack of willingness on the part of network operators to really tackle the gaps in cell phone coverage in Germany. Of course, a provider could ask for significantly more money if he could guarantee uninterrupted data traffic and telephone connections in Germany. But nobody can do that.
More: German mobile communications on trains and in the country are patchy