Internet speed in Germany

Understanding MBit/s — and checking what actually reaches you.

Every German offer shows a big number: 150 MBit/s, 250 MBit/s… Many people pay for more, believing the internet will then be “faster”. That is not what this number measures. Here is what it means, how much you really need, and how to officially prove that your line is too slow.

What does MBit/s actually mean?

MBit/s measures throughput: the amount of data that passes in one second. It is the diameter of the pipe, not the speed of the water. A wider pipe does not make the water arrive sooner — it lets more through at once.

• What more MBit/s genuinely improves — The number of devices and activities running at the same time: several screens streaming, downloads in the background, a whole family online in parallel. And the transfer time of large files.
• What it does not improve — A web page does not open faster, a video call is not smoother. That depends on ping (latency), your Wi-Fi, your device and the server at the other end.
• Download and upload — The first is what you receive, the second what you send. Upload is always far lower and rarely advertised — yet it is what matters for video calls, cloud backups and sending photos to family.
• Ping (latency) — Reaction time, in milliseconds. It is what makes a page feel responsive and a video call feel natural. Very high throughput with poor ping still feels slow.

MBit/s or MB/s? The confusion that makes offers look eight times faster

This is the most common misunderstanding. One byte is eight bits. Offers are sold in megabits per second, while your computer displays downloads in megabytes per second. So you have to divide by eight.

In practice these rates are never reached at 100 %: Wi-Fi, your device and the server at the other end each take their share.

How many MBit/s do you really need?

Here are orders of magnitude by use. Add up what runs at the same time in your home — that is the only sum that counts.

• Browsing, email, social networks — a few MBit/s are enough.
• HD streaming — about 5 MBit/s per screen.
• 4K streaming — about 15 to 25 MBit/s per screen.
• Video calls — about 2 to 5 MBit/s, and above all upload.
• Online gaming — little throughput, but a good ping.

In short: for a household of 2 to 4 people, home office and streaming included, 50 to 100 MBit/s is plenty. Beyond that, paying more changes almost nothing in what you actually feel.

Why your internet feels slow even though you pay for lots of MBit/s

The contract figure is a speed that arrives up to your home. What happens next is no longer up to the provider.

• Wi-Fi is often the real bottleneck — Thick walls, a router tucked in a corner, an old device, a crowded 2.4 GHz band. A 250 MBit/s line is useless if Wi-Fi caps out far below. A network cable or a better router position often does more than a more expensive plan.
• Your device — An old phone or computer cannot use a high throughput, even over cable.
• The server at the other end — A slow website stays slow whatever your line. You never receive faster than the other end sends.
• Time of day — On cable, the network is shared with your neighbours: evenings are the busiest hours.
• Drosselung (throttling) — Some contracts throttle speed after a certain volume. On fixed-line offers the entry often reads “keine” (no throttling).

The three speeds written in your German contract

This is the point almost nobody knows, and it is decisive for enforcing your rights. A German internet contract states not one speed but three — for download as well as upload.

• Maximale Geschwindigkeit — the maximum speed. The marketing figure, the one in the advert.
• Normalerweise zur Verfügung stehende Geschwindigkeit — the speed normally available. The most honest one, and the one to look at.
• Minimale Geschwindigkeit — the guaranteed minimum. Below it, the service is no longer contract-compliant.

These three values appear in the Produktinformationsblatt (product information sheet) and the Vertragszusammenfassung (contract summary) your provider must give you. On the comparison tool you already see the second one: the note “normalerweise zur Verfügung stehend” shown next to the maximum rate.

How to measure your real speed: the official method

A random speed test found online carries no evidential weight against a provider. Germany has an official, free procedure provided by the Bundesnetzagentur (the regulator): the Breitbandmessung Desktop-App, from breitbandmessung.de.

For the result to count as proof, the measurement campaign must follow precise rules:

• 30 measurements in total, within 14 days of starting the campaign.
• Spread over 3 different calendar days, with at least one day's gap between measurement days.
• 10 measurements per day, distributed equally across the three days.
• At least 5 minutes between two measurements.
• At least 3 hours between the 5th and the 6th measurement of the day.
• The technical conditions are described in the official guidance (Handreichung) from the Bundesnetzagentur.

At the end you receive a Messprotokoll (measurement report) stating whether the service is compliant. That document — and only that one — serves as proof with your provider.

For mobile internet (LTE / 5G) the procedure is different: it uses the “Nachweisverfahren Mobilfunk” app, with its own rules and thresholds. Do not mix the two.

Too slow? Your rights: price reduction or termination

Since December 2021, § 57 of the TKG (the German telecommunications act) gives you real leverage when the delivered speed deviates persistently from the contract. The Bundesnetzagentur has defined when the deviation counts.

For a fixed line, a deviation exists if just one of these three situations occurs — in download or upload:

• On at least 2 of the 3 days, you do not reach at least once 90 % of the maximum speed in the contract.
• The normally available speed is not reached in 90 % of measurements.
• On at least 2 of the 3 days, the minimum speed is undercut at least once.

In other words: the official measurement costs nothing and takes three days spread over two weeks. If your line really is below contract, it is the only document that gives you real bargaining power.

Source: Bundesnetzagentur, § 57(4) TKG, general ruling no. 99/2021 (fixed line); mobile procedure updated in April 2026. This is not legal advice.

DSL, cable, fibre: does the connection type change the speed?

Yes, a great deal — and the Anschlussart line in the comparison tool tells you which one you are looking at.

• DSL (copper, the telephone line) — Throughput depends on the distance to the street cabinet. The further away you are, the less you receive, whatever contract you signed.
• Kabel (coaxial cable, the TV network) — High throughput, but the network is shared with your neighbours: hence the slowdowns at peak times in the evening.
• Glasfaser (fibre) — The most stable, and above all the only one offering a genuinely high upload. Still unevenly deployed street by street.
• Mobilfunk (LTE / 5G) — Depends on coverage at your address and on how loaded the mast is. Useful as a stopgap, less consistent than a fixed line.

This is why an offer available in one street may not be available in the next one: always compare using your exact address.