Germany's internet speed lags far behind other W. European countries: survey

A survey published by consulting firm Deloitte on Thursday revealed that Germany’s internet speed for private users significantly lags behind that of other large Western European countries. Only 27 percent of Germans reported surfing with a bandwidth of at least 250 megabits per second (Mbit/s), while in top-ranking Spain, the share was more than double at 67 percent. These findings were based on a survey of 13,000 people.

The survey also highlighted that more than half of Germans were still using bandwidths limited to 100 Mbit/s, which is significantly more than in top-performing countries like Italy, France and Belgium.

In addition to lagging internet speed, Germany also ranked last in terms of broadband reliability. The survey found that almost 1 in 3 people in Germany experienced connection problems on a monthly or more frequent basis.

Deloitte noted that problems with internet access were common in all Western European markets, with 26 percent of respondents in “fiber optic pioneer Spain” reporting having regular problems.

Dieter Trimmel, Partner Strategy and Transformation at Deloitte, emphasized that the desire for a stable connection at a reasonable price continues to dominate the German market, with an emphasis on reliability over high upload and download speeds.

According to a spokesperson for the German Ministry for Digital and Transport, many customers often do not book high bandwidths because lower bandwidths are still sufficient. The spokesperson stressed that this is not an expansion problem, but part of the market situation in Germany, and an expression of the efficiency of existing networks.

The European Commission has plans to push ahead with the expansion of digital networks and presented a set of possible actions to “foster the innovation, security and resilience of digital infrastructures,” including accelerating the switch-off of copper towards fiber networks on Wednesday.