Telekom, Vodafone or o2: Stiftung Warentest has chosen the best mobile network

In 2017, Stiftung Warentest carried out a major network test of mobile networks in Germany and examined the performance of Telekom, Vodafone and o2. The same test was repeated in 2022 to find out whether the rankings have changed and how the mobile network in Germany has developed. The conclusion of the Stiftung Warentest: Things are progressing.

Stiftung Warentest selects the best mobile network in Germany

Telekom, Vodafone and o2 keep preaching that they are making the mobile network in Germany better year by year. But is that really true? This is exactly what Stiftung Warentest has now investigated (source: Stiftung Warentest). In 2017 there was a major network test and this has now been repeated. The conclusion is quite positive. In the past five years, the mobile network in Germany has gotten much better. In the tests, there were hardly any more disconnections during phone calls - if so, then with o2. And there, too, much less often than before.

In order to test the mobile phone network in Germany, Stiftung Warentest drove around 4,000 kilometers through Germany with measuring vehicles . The reception was tested in the city, in the country and on the freeway. Access to the Internet was constantly checked and more than 5,000 telephone calls were made. In the end, Stiftung Warentest issues a positive test result. All providers have improved noticeably. Telekom continues to have the best mobile network in Germany. Vodafone and o2 are just behind in second and third place.

5G is not yet a standard

4G offers the best network in Germany. There, all three mobile operators provide good reception and high transmission rates . Telekom delivers the best result here and o2 lags behind significantly. While Telekom has achieved average transmission rates of 121 MBit/s, Vodafone achieves 89 MBit/s and o2 70 MBit/s. However, these are still very good values ​​if you compare the data from 2017. There Telekom reached 32 MBit/s, Vodafone 19 MBit/s and o2 only 9 MBit/s. So every mobile operator was able to increase massively.

Telekom also offers the best 5G network . It is the most developed. It is followed by Vodafone and in third place is o2. Here it was clearly established that the network coverage in the city is much better than in the country, with the difference being greatest for o2:

In the 5G discipline, o2 can even partially beat Vodafone when it comes to data connection in the city. This is also fundamentally the finding of the Stiftung Warentest. In the city in particular, o2 has massively improved its network and is no longer lagging behind as much as it used to be.

This is how you can find out whether your cell phone plan is really good:

Stiftung Warentest: mobile network still not perfect

Even if the conclusion of the Stiftung Warentest is basically positive, there is still a lot of work for the mobile phone providers. There are still dead spots in Germany that need to be filled. Telekom and Vodafone are already working together on a solution. The 5G network must also be further expanded to enable higher transmission rates.

Incidentally, the network on the train was not tested. In addition, 1&1 was not included. The fourth mobile communications provider is just building up its network and is currently supplying its customers via the o2 network.