Consumers who have problems with a slow Internet connection should have more legal certainty in the event of disputes with their provider. A catalog of criteria for payment reductions is coming.
Anyone who has much worse internet at home than the provider promised can reduce payments to them from December onwards.
The Federal Network Agency published its draft for the specific design of consumer rights on Wednesday. The catalog of criteria is about how large the deficits must be before customers can make use of the right of reduction. The criteria apply to downloads and uploads for fixed-line broadband connections.
According to the design, users have to take ten measurements of the Internet speed on two different days. If 90 percent of the contractually agreed maximum speed is not reached at least once on both days, a right of reduction should exist.
This should also be the case if the normally available speed is not reached in 90 percent of the measurements. Customers should also be given a right to a reduction in price if the contractually agreed minimum speed is not reached on two measurement days.
“Our planned specifications are intended to help consumers assert their new rights. In addition, we create security for the providers, ”said the President of the Federal Network Agency, Jochen Homann. All interested parties can now comment on the draft until October 5th.
You could reduce the payment to the Internet provider beforehand if the performance was poor. However, it has been difficult for consumers to enforce this right. That is about to change: Anyone who will take measurements with the Federal Network Agency’s “broadband measurement.de” desktop app in the future can use these values to justify the reduction in monthly payments.
How much less you can pay is already clear: In the event of a “significant, continuous or regularly recurring deviation in speed”, the amount that can be reduced is as much as the difference between the actual and the contractually agreed service.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
