German Network Agency says 56 KBit/s is a functional internet connection.

[Nicnac]

This is just hilarious: The German federal network agency calls an internet connection with 56 KBit/s "functional".

The background here is that ISDN connections will be switched off in the process of migrating the IP system (towards VDSL). As a result many people will have no proper internet connection because the infrastructure just isn't there. This primarily affects people in the rural areas of Germany.

They now issued a statement that 56 KBit/s are a functional internet connection. But it gets even better: Telekom doesn't have to provide service at all. There is no legal framework that forces them to replace people's internet connection or offer an alternative. So I guess you're lucky if you get 56 KBit/s. For comparison: just loading the complains form of the federal network agency would take about 9 minutes on a connection like that.

 

Quote

Under the current regime, 'functional Internet access' means narrowband
 Internet access. The Universal Service Directive of 7 March 2002 names 56 kbps. 
There is no legal basis for obliging companies to provide end users with broadband Internet connections.

Source (German)

 

I think this is hilarious and just another example of how unplanned, clumsy and inept the expansion of broadband internet within Germany is taking place.

[FloRolf]

As a German, I approve this. Our government is just too damn stupid to build a proper broadband internet. Not even in bigger cities I'm afraid. 

 

 

Edit: just to give you some perspective, just a couple years ago (like 2-4 years I don't remember) the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said "The internet is virigin territory for all of us"... 

[Eigenvektor]

I agree that 56 Kbps is nowhere near usable in today's Internet. But I'm not quite sure I get the point of the article. They're talking about switching off ISDN. If someone is still using ISDN, they're already limited to 64 Kbps (or 128 Kbps with bundling). So providing some form of universal access at 56 Kbps isn't that much slower than what those people already had to content with.

[Nicnac]

18 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

I agree that 56 Kbps is nowhere near usable in today's Internet. But I'm not quite sure I get the point of the article. They're talking about switching off ISDN. If someone is still using ISDN, they're already limited to 64 Kbps (or 128 Kbps with bundling). So providing some form of universal access at 56 Kbps isn't that much slower than what those people already had to content with.

I think it just illustrates the technological backward-ness we suffer from rn. 

Still having ISDN as the only internet connection and then having THAT switched off must be a special kind of pain...

[Dabombinable]

Well to be fair, it is probably going to feel and be faster than mobile internet in our area (seriously, what kind of...mentally challenged...person, puts a tower at the bottom of a hill in a valley)

[MichaelWd]

I wouldn't disagree. It is not fast but it is functional. 

 

If you want to talk politics about whether governments should force private companies to provide a certain service, no problem, I don't think that's what this article is about?

[Trik'Stari]

Good to see the German government has about as much sense as the US government does when it comes to internet.

 

That being said, I'm still shocked that Century Link managed to get 20mbps out to where I used to live. Only after I had moved of course. The driveway was 7/10th's of a mile long ffs.

[Vacras]

I absolutely hate that 60 year old German politicians who have no idea about the internet whatsoever together with the Telecom and their stupid plans to now introduce “super vectoring” instead of just using fibre cables are setting us behind in digitalization by light years.

It’s legit driving me mad.

[RejZoR]

I used to have mobile plan with 2GB data and no extra charge when using more, which meant 2GB of full speed data and when you got past that it went 64kbps. Lets just say it was so slow most webpages or apps didn't even load any data when you requested it. And that was several years ago. Saying 56kbit (for all that are too young, that's the speed of squeaking analogue modems from 20 years ago) is enough is straight up absurd and I would never expect this idiocy coming from Germany of all countries.

 

What I'd consider a necessity today is at least 1Mbps. Sure it's still shit, but this is what could be considered as essential bottom line to at least send e-mails or view news or something. Realistically, anything under 10Mbps is pretty much useless today.

[williamcll]

Maybe you shouldn't call yourself a first world country if you don't have fast internet.

[Nicnac]

1 hour ago, williamcll said:

Maybe you shouldn't call yourself a first world country if you don't have fast internet.

We feel like we are too well off so we desperatly try to lower standards wherever possible. Also, let's introduce a whole lot of regulation that makes everything more expensive and everyone miserable. but that's another topic...

[Tristerin]

So the Government in Germany is not forcing a private company to do something?

 

Gud. *in my best German accent*

[Nicnac]

30 minutes ago, Tristerin said:

So the Government in Germany is not forcing a private company to do something?

 

Gud. *in my best German accent*

Nah it just hates planning ahead

[Mr.Meerkat]

Whilst the UK is making it legislation that 10/1Mbps is the absolute minimum by early 2020  

 

10Mbps ain't no blazing speeds but it's more than decent enough for a non-intensive household. 

[Sauron]

44 minutes ago, Tristerin said:

So the Government in Germany is not forcing a private company to do something?

 

Gud. *in my best German accent*

The logical extension to this argument would be that the government should not interfere if they chose not to provide any internet at all while holding on to the cable laying concessions they were granted specifically so they could provide connectivity to the population.

 

You don't get to complain about the government enforcing minimum service standards when your business revolves around getting special permissions from the government.

[Sauron]

Just now, Mr.Meerkat said:

Whilst the UK is making it legislation that 10/1Mbps is the absolute minimum by early 2020  

 

10Mbps ain't no blazing speeds but it's more than decent enough for a non-intensive household. 

1Mbps upload is pretty damn slow though. That means over a minute to upload a single high quality picture taken from a modern phone. That might have been ok 10 years ago, nowadays it's snail pace.

[jagdtigger]

Not only the internet but the ISP supplied modem+router combos are a bad joke there:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/motrf6lpc4cacus/wtf.PNG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3gbp0o9t2vvkhih/20170408_120845.jpg?dl=0

[bcredeur97]

1 hour ago, Sauron said:

1Mbps upload is pretty damn slow though. That means over a minute to upload a single high quality picture taken from a modern phone. That might have been ok 10 years ago, nowadays it's snail pace.

coming from the perspective of what should be affordable for even really poor people, 10mbps sounds like a good number to me.

It's enough to do very basic tasks, albeit with a bit of a wait. it needs to be really cheap though.

[ARikozuM]

1 minute ago, bcredeur97 said:

coming from the perspective of what should be affordable for even really poor people, 10mbps sounds like a good number to me.

It's enough to do very basic tasks, albeit with a bit of a wait. it needs to be really cheap though.

We subsidize the industry in the states. There is no reason to charge $60 for 100/100 when it's our money they're double-dipping. 

 

I hope every German riots/strikes against this decision. Things need to move quickly these days since ceding ground will be hard to reacquire. 

[Sauron]

Just now, bcredeur97 said:

coming from the perspective of what should be affordable for even really poor people, 10mbps sounds like a good number to me.

It's enough to do very basic tasks, albeit with a bit of a wait. it needs to be really cheap though.

But that's the thing, 10Mb/s isn't some sort of free baseline that everyone gets; the ISP decides what they offer and how much it costs. The minimum requirement just means that if they sell it as "broadband" it can't be any slower than that, it says nothing about what a reasonable price for it would be nor how much they should offer to people who are willing to pay more. If you're unlucky enough to live in an area that is only covered by one ISP they could demand 200£/month for 10/1 and have no faster offers, and you'd be forced to pay for it even just to do your job in a lot of cases.

[Nowak]

I mean, yeah, they aren't wrong... if it was 1996.

[amdorintel]

so its rural areas

 

is not internet connection in rural areas a problem ?

 

 

[Tech_Dreamer]

Quote

 'functional Internet access' means narrowband
 Internet access. The Universal Service Directive of 7 March 2002 names 56 kbps. 

OK BOOMER.

[amdorintel]

https://www.highspeedinternet.com/providers/rural

sure its the usa but ....

Quote

Like gas and electricity, the internet is essential to modern life. Yet many areas of the country are underserved, in part because of the cost involved in building networks that reach every home in America. Government subsidies help providers deliver broadband service to some rural areas, but a new generation of satellite internet coming in 2020 may solve connectivity problems without the need for installing hardwired networks. In the meantime, don’t lose hope! If you live in a rural area, you may have more options than you think.

Germany has not as vast expanse of country then the usa does, or canada.

Good case study here, from 2018

https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-44A1.pdf?kbid=110971&utm_source=highspeedinternet.com&utm_medium=affiliate

Looks like Tribal lands are getting screwed over, but its close to Rural areas.

 

I will see what I can find for Germany, but my search skillz lack.

well i just went to images and found this, so there are pockets of non high speed internet access. internet is a must in this day in age, especially for poor people/poor families.

compared to the usa

 

 

 

and canada, which is xplorenet

 

 

I would say that Germany has it pretty good. The bonus with Germany is the population is so concentrated.

 

 

be costly to get the entire country connected.

 

 

[mr moose]

No offense,  but the German government also thought they could replace nuclear power plants with windmills and solar.