Stiftung Warentest: Internet provider in the speed test

Stiftung Warentest uses the Internet provider test (issue 02/15) to determine the fastest Internet providers for cable, DSL and LTE reception. Telekom, Vodafone and Co. have to compete in the categories surf speed, price and service. We summarize the test and reveal which provider offers the fastest network.

Product test winner: Telekom in front of the Internet providers for DSL

Of the tested DSL providers, none gets beyond a "satisfactory":

• The "Call & Surf Comfort" telecom package took first place with a grade of 2.6. At just under 40 euros per month, it is also somewhat more expensive than the competition in the following places.
• You save around 50 euros per year with the second-place Congstar with the Complete 2 package. The Internet speed and voice quality when telephoning correspond approximately to that of Telekom. With both providers you get a 16 MBit / s data rate in the package and 1 MBit / s in the upload.
• However, setting up the Telekom package is much more difficult than with Congstar. Customers have been reporting for a long time that they are always being moved by telecommunications technicians.
• Vodafone was completely disappointed in the test: Even after five months, no technician came to the customer to install the DSL connection. Our guide article knows more.

High-speed in the cable: The fastest Internet is available at Kabel Deutschland

Among the cable providers, Kabel Deutschland convinced with the fastest internet in the entire test:

• With its "Internet & Telephone 25" tariff, Kabel Deutschland is not only particularly fast, but also quite cheap at around 20 euros per month. The surf package delivers 25 MBit / s in download and 1 MBit / s in upload. This ensures a grade of 2.3 ("good").
• The setup works - typical for cable reception - easily and within two weeks. Since the network belongs to the providers themselves and not to Telekom, no telecommunications technician is necessary here either.
• But: File shareers reach the limit at 60 GB per day - here Kabel Deutschland throttles to 100 KBit / s in the download. But if you don't download more than 50 films a day, you don't have to worry about it.

LTE provider: Warentest sees Vodafone at the top

Vodafone still disappointed across the board when it came to the cable connection, but among the LTE providers it managed to be number 1:

• With a "good" (grade: 2.4) and brisk internet speed, Vodafone's "LTE at home M" leads the LTE ranking. Particularly noteworthy: everything was set up and operational after just six days. Competitors such as Telekom took more than a month for the LTE connection.
• The voice quality in the Vodafones LTE package is pretty good and the upload is extremely fast at 5.7 Mbit / s.
• But be careful: As usual with LTE tariffs, Vodafone limits the data volume to 15 GB (tariff "LTE at home M"). The provider then reduces the speed to 384 kbps.
• All details about the test can be found at test.de.

Conclusion: cables before LTE - but a comparison is worthwhile

• Internet via cable is currently the fastest - this is shown once again by the current test. Kabel Deutschland is moving at a brisk pace that can be increased up to 100 Mbit / s depending on the tariff.
• LTE is the popular alternative when it should not be cable and DSL. The test winner Vodafone, however, throttles the speed after a data volume of 15 GB is reached.
• DSL tariffs are available from 20 euros, but with 16 Mbit / s you can only expect a "normal" Internet speed.
• Tip: In the DSL comparison calculator you will find the cheapest cable, DSL and LTE tariff for your place of residence.

In the next article we show what you have to consider when choosing the right tariff.

DSL comparison calculator

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