As early as autumn last year, the European Court of Justice ruled that Vodafone Pass and Telekom StreamOn are incompatible with net neutrality. Now there can be different opinions regarding the offer, the zero rating of the data in question and the classification in net neutrality. My personal point of view: The data was not preferred on the Internet, it was a tariff distinction. Actual violations in the past have long since been eliminated. It was about reducing the video streaming signal to SD for many customers.
For me personally, StreamOn is a tariff option in which every content provider could participate – at no cost. Customers had the advantage of the streaming flat rate. Telekom has massively upgraded the expensive contracts with comparatively little data volume. So I’m largely following Telekom’s argument that the service does not violate net neutrality. Courts and the Federal Network Agency see things differently. And not just since this week or since last September. In principle, consumer advocates and courts have been fighting the service for as long as it has existed. This also achieved stage victories, such as the ban on signal reduction.
Accordingly, the final ban by the Federal Network Agency for Deutsche Telekom can now be anything, but not unexpected or surprising. To this day, Deutsche Telekom markets StreamOn to its new customers. Anyone who didn’t notice the ban by the Federal Network Agency has a two-year contract on their cheek – Telekom StreamOn must switch off at the end of March 2023. A new customer still has 13 months remaining – without a streaming flat rate, but with high costs and little data volume.
Telekom: StreamOn is only an additional contract
Telekom does not want to release customers from the contract. Telekom has already made this clear to inside digital. In a statement provided to us by Telekom this week, it said, verbatim: “The StreamOn add-on option is an additional contract that our customers can order in addition to the underlying mobile phone contract and can be terminated at any time by our customers and Telekom. The mobile phone contract remains of one termination unaffected by the StreamOn add-on option. The separate mobile phone contract can be terminated according to the regulations that apply to its termination.“
In plain language: Telekom is ultimately carrying out the dispute with consumer protection groups, regulators and courts that has been smoldering for years at the expense of the customers. Because instead of offering at least the affected customers a complete data flat rate for the remaining term, for example, they are already positioning themselves against the customers.
And she messes with well-paying customers. A contract with a video flat rate as part of StreamOn currently costs a whopping EUR 49.95 per month. Beyond the zero-rating flat rate, a ridiculous 12 GB of data is included. At least the customers should be willing to spend 50 euros for this. Even the release of 5G does not make the cabbage fat. For comparison: The provider High Mobile offers 15 GB data volume in the Telekom network for 15 euros an.
Telekom promises further measures – but without mentioning StreamOn customers
In its statement, Telekom also points out that “fair tariffs will continue to enable high data consumption and the best user experience”. Therefore, there are constant measures in which, for example, data volume is given away or tariffs are upgraded. “The next measures for other customer groups are already being prepared, and affected customers will of course be informed in good time.” Details, particularly with regard to the StreamOn customers now affected, are expressly left open.
With the position that StreamOn is an additional contract to the actual mobile phone contract, Telekom may be legally on the safe side. But morally, the emerging plan not to release customers from contracts that are far too expensive without StreamOn is reprehensible. No, it is not only reprehensible – the step would be a real mess – and will probably alienate customers forever.
