Telekom users in Bonn complain about slow surfing-warning of consumer advocates

Telekom suddenly reduces the speed for many contract customers

Deutsche Telekom recently announced that many of their contract customers, especially those with unlimited tariffs, are affected by a sudden throttling of their mobile data speeds. This measure takes place in an environment in which users are increasingly experiencing difficulties in using the Internet, which leads to a growing citizens' session.

The changes mainly affect customers who use a SIM card in a router. Telekom has to adjust the terms of use, which means that certain users can now be throttled due to serial numbers of their devices. Such measures aim to avoid the network overload that arises if too many users transmit high amounts of data at the same time. This situation typically occurs in highly frequented mobile phone cells, where the available capacity can be overloaded.

reactions and legal aspects

The Consumer Center Federal Association (VZBV) has already criticized Telekom because of the current throttling and accuses the company to violate network neutrality. The allegations affect practices such as peering, in which connections to other providers are made, which can lead to an artificial scarcity. This practice may promote the financing of larger service providers and disadvantage smaller private customers.

Customers affected by the throttling are faced with considerable restrictions at the internet speed. Many report extremely slow loading times that are reminiscent of the speeds of earlier modem broadcasts. In this context, it is also pointed out to the possibility that affected contract customers can claim a special right of termination in order to end your contract prematurely if the internet connection does not improve quickly.

the European context and network stability

In the EU there are legal regulations to ensure network stability that prescribe access to open Internet services. Providers may implement traffic management measures to maintain the integrity of their networks. Telekom has explained that the throttling is a necessary measure to avoid overload and failure that have already affected entire major cities in the past.

The current developments in the Telekom market are led to the need for transparent communication between service providers and their customers as well as the challenges of fulfilling customer expectations in an increasingly data-intensive world.