Vodafone narrowly wins the large-scale network test by trade magazine "Chip" this year, ahead of Deutsche Telekom. In the comparison of the four national providers released on Wednesday in Munich, 1&1 and O2 follow at some distance.
Vodafone owes the narrow test victory primarily to its position as the largest TV cable provider, through which the majority of its customers are served, while a smaller portion is supplied via VDSL technology. "There is more potential in TV cable compared to VDSL when it comes to maximum speed and service at lower speeds," the report says.
During the Corona pandemic, however, the increased use of the internet for home office work and video streaming resulted in Vodafone customers often not receiving the contractually guaranteed quality of service, leading to numerous customer complaints and contract terminations. Vodafone Chief Technology Officer Tanja Richter explained that Vodafone technicians have installed more fiber optics into the cable network and significantly increased the number of network elements for customers over the past two years. "As a result, each individual customer receives significantly more speed reliably on average."
The trade magazine "Chip" goes to great lengths for the fixed-line test: it sent out almost 1,000 small Raspberry computers to conventional fixed-line users who then continuously tested the networks under controlled conditions. This method delivers significantly more reliable results than simple speed test data or smartphone apps.
Vodafone does not lead in all areas, however. Deutsche Telekom scored better than the Düsseldorf company in terms of network availability and data transmission time ("latency"). Also, when it came to the question of whether the provider delivers the contractually agreed bandwidth, Telekom narrowly maintained its lead. However, when it comes to value for money and speed, the "Chip" testers found a clear lead for Vodafone.
In some regions, however, TV cable technology is not the best choice, as significantly more powerful fiber-optic connections have been installed directly into homes or apartments. However, offers from providers such as Deutsche Glasfaser are not available throughout Germany. Regional providers like the cable provider Pyur consistently impressed the testers at "Chip."
Thus, the cable specialist Pyur has captured the top position in five federal states, including Saxony and Baden-Württemberg. "The pace is right, the contract fulfillment is appropriate, and the rates, such as 40 euros for 1 GBit/s, are inexpensive." The Deutsche Telekom has also been able to convince regionally and won in four federal states.
The Vodafone share price in London temporarily rose by 0.47 percent to 0.7559 pounds.
