Mobile Network Measurement Week 2026: Participation drops significantly compared to previous year

In the weeks before this year's campaign, according to the Federal Network Agency, only around two million measurement points per week were recorded. During the measurement week itself, the number rose to just under 20 million, but remained well below the 146 million measurement points of the previous year. This confirms the trend of declining participation in the crowdsourcing campaign.

Among other reasons, the Federal Network Agency cites the summer holidays for the low participation: "Ein weiterer Grund für die im Vergleich zur Aktionswoche 2025 niedrige Nutzung könnte sein, dass in dem Zeitraum in einigen Bundesländern bereits die Sommerferien begonnen hatten und viele Menschen im Urlaub waren." The weather was also a factor, according to the agency: "Außerdem war es sehr heiß - manch einer blieb wohl lieber in den eigenen vier Wänden, anstatt im Wald zu wandern und dort sein Handy für Netzqualitätstests zu zücken."

Data on the coverage situation

Participants used the "Mobilfunk-Check" app to measure the actual transmission quality on site. "Das soll dabei helfen, Netzbetreibern einen genaueren Überblick über die Lage von Funklöchern zu verschaffen oder von Orten mit Schneckentempo beim Datentransfer, um dann besser gegensteuern zu können," the Federal Network Agency explains the purpose of the survey.

According to the agency's data from December 2025, pure dead zones are rare in Germany: "Reine Funklöcher gibt es in Deutschland laut Bundesnetzagentur auf 0,22 Prozent der Fläche - dort ist also keins der drei etablierten Handynetze von Telekom, Vodafone und O2 im schlechtesten Übertragungsstandard 2G erreichbar." According to this, 4G reception is not possible across 2.21 percent of the area.

The three established mobile network operators in Germany are Telekom, Vodafone, and O2. "Mobilfunk-Netzbetreiber weisen darauf hin, dass sie auch selbst Messungen vornehmen, um die Datenübertragung zu verbessern," the Federal Network Agency reports. In this way, the operators' own surveys partially overlap with those of citizens.

Background on the campaign week

Data on stationary broadband coverage is available via the website Breitbandmessung.de: "Auf Breitbandmessung.de kann man nachschauen, wie die Übertragungsqualität an einem bestimmten Ort ist." The "Mobilfunk-Check" app can also be used outside of the campaign week.

This year's campaign week "fand Ende Juni" statt, wie die Bundesnetzagentur mitteilte. "Damals war es die erste bundesweite Mobilfunk-Messwoche" – gemeint ist das Vorjahr 2025, das somit als Premiere in die Geschichte der Aktion einging. Whether the significantly lower response in 2026 will have consequences for the future direction of the campaign was initially left open by the agency.

Despite the declining number of participants, observers do not see the approach of citizen participation fundamentally called into question. Especially in rural regions or along hiking and cycling trails, additional measurement points could help to more precisely map coverage with the newer mobile network standards 4G and 5G. According to its own statements, the Federal Network Agency intends to continue the measurement week as an instrument of network monitoring.

Significance for network expansion

Regardless of the campaign week, the Federal Network Agency's data from December 2025 continues to provide the most accurate public overview to date of mobile network coverage in Germany. "Die Daten sind vom Dezember 2025," the agency said. They form the basis for political decisions about the further expansion of the networks.

The Mobile Network Measurement Week is part of a broader strategy to make the coverage situation in Germany more transparent. It supplements official measurements by the Federal Network Agency, the operators' own surveys, and the possibility of checking the quality at one's own location at any time via Breitbandmessung.de or the "Mobilfunk-Check" app.