Participation Initiative by the Federal Network Agency: How Mobile Users Can Help Improve Mobile Coverage
Especially in rural areas of Germany, coverage is not as good as it could be. With the app 'Mobile Coverage Check,' you can report dead zones and actively contribute to improvements.
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Especially in rural areas of Germany, coverage is not as good as it could be. With the app "Mobile Coverage Check," you can report dead zones and actively contribute to improvements.
By Noëlle Bölling
Although the German mobile network has improved, there are still gaps in some regions. According to the Federal Network Agency, this primarily affects rural areas in southern Bavaria as well as in the federal states of Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Thuringia. To get a more accurate picture of network coverage, mobile users are called upon to report dead zones via an app until July 1, 2026.
5G Network Still Has Gaps
As reported by Tagesschau based on data from the Federal Network Agency, there was no mobile reception at all on 0.22 percent of Germany's total area in December 2025. 7.5 percent of the country is not covered by 4G, and another 12.1 percent still lack access to the current 5G standard. However, these values are only theoretical—most users can only access one network and perceive worse coverage in practice. When looking at the various network operators, Deutsche Telekom achieves the best result: only 1.2 percent of the country's area is not covered. Vodafone and O2 have correspondingly worse values.
Although Germany initially led the way in 5G expansion starting in 2019, the pace has slowed in recent years. As Handelsblatt reported based on an analysis by the industry service provider Opensignal, Germany ranked only seventh in average download speed in 2024. Surprisingly, Brazil was far ahead: in that South American country, 5G users were already achieving impressive download rates of 349 megabytes per second at that time.
Measurement Week to Uncover Dead Zones
The reason for Brazil's leading position was the targeted 5G strategy of the government: during a frequency auction at the end of 2021, telecommunications companies paid a total of $8.5 billion and committed to ambitious expansion plans in return. By 2029, all settlements with more than 30 inhabitants are to be equipped with 5G. However, a weak point remains reliability: according to Opensignal, reception was missing 2.4 percent of the time in Brazil. In this regard, Germany was already significantly more reliable in 2024.
To further advance mobile expansion in all German federal states, citizen engagement is now required. The Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport and the Federal Network Agency have launched a participation initiative under the hashtag #CheckDeinNetz: with the "Mobile Coverage Check" app, users are encouraged to report dead zones until July 1. The app can also be used outside of the measurement week to share information about gaps in mobile coverage. Those who participate and share the network quality at their location can actively contribute to improving the German mobile network expansion.
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