While cultural ties bind the three countries in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), internet performance varies widely between them. Using data from Speedtest Intelligence®, we compared performance for mobile network operators (MNOs) and fixed broadband internet service providers (ISPs) across countries and at the provider level during Q3 2020. We also compared provider performance to Speedtest Consumer SentimentTM data on five-star ratings and Net Promoter Score (NPS) to understand how network performance impacts customer satisfaction.
Switzerland boasts the highest mobile and fixed broadband download speeds
Switzerland outperformed Austria and Germany for mean mobile download speed with a mean download speed over mobile of 60.61 Mbps in Q3. Switzerland ranked 12th in the world on the Speedtest Global IndexTM as of September 2020. Austria, which had a mobile download speed of 52.76 Mbps in Q3 2020, ranked 20th in the world for mobile. Germany’s mobile download speed during Q3 2020 was 41.34 Mbps and the country ranked 35th. All three countries have invested heavily in 5G with Germany showing the largest number of cities with 5G deployments as of November 4, 2020, according to the Ookla 5G MapTM at 2,311. Switzerland had 554 and Austria 1,104. Interestingly, Switzerland actually saw a peak in mobile download speed during Q3 2020 after a decrease in Q1-Q2 2020.
On the fixed side, Switzerland fared even better with a mean download speed of 170.21 Mbps during Q3. Switzerland ranked 4th in the world for fixed broadband according to the Speedtest Global Index as of September 2020. Germany’s Q3 2020 download speed over fixed broadband was 108.57 Mbps and the country ranked 29th in the world. Austria had the lowest download speed over fixed broadband at 75.27 Mbps during Q3 2020 and ranked 50th for fixed broadband download speed. Switzerland was the only country of the three to show parity between download and upload speed over fixed broadband with a mean upload speed of 110.09 Mbps during Q3 2020. For comparison, Germany showed 25.84 Mbps and Austria was at 18.42 Mbps during the same period.
Fastest providers in Austria, Germany and Switzerland
We compared Q3 2020 internet performance for top providers in Austria, Germany and Switzerland using Speed ScoreTM. On mobile, these results consider only devices that use modern chipsets.
A1 (mobile) and Magenta (fixed broadband) are fastest in Austria
Internet Performance of Top Mobile Providers in Austria
Speedtest Intelligence® | Modern Chipsets in Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ |
|---|---|
| A1 | 61.55 |
| 3 | 43.55 |
| Magenta Telekom | 41.00 |
A1 had the fastest Speed Score among Austrian mobile operators at 61.55 during Q3 2020. Three showed the second fastest Speed Score, followed by Magenta Telekom.
Internet Performance of Top Fixed Providers in Austria
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ |
|---|---|
| Magenta | 81.21 |
| 3 | 26.39 |
| A1 | 24.84 |
On the fixed broadband side at the national level, Magenta was the fastest provider in Austria during Q3 2020. Three was second, while A1 was third. While LIWEST, kabelplus and CableLink had higher Speed Scores than both 3 and A1, these regional providers are only available in select portions of the country.
Telekom (mobile) and Vodafone (fixed broadband) are fastest in Germany
Internet Performance of Top Mobile Providers in Germany
Speedtest Intelligence® | Modern Chipsets in Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ |
|---|---|
| Telekom | 49.09 |
| Vodafone | 29.69 |
| 1&1 | 23.18 |
| O2 | 22.65 |
Telekom was the fastest mobile operator in Germany during Q3 2020 with a Speed Score of 49.09, far above second-place Vodafone. 1&1 was third and O2 was fourth.
Internet Performance of Top Fixed Providers in Germany
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ |
|---|---|
| Vodafone | 103.57 |
| Telekom | 44.28 |
| O2 | 38.38 |
Vodafone was the fastest fixed broadband provider in Germany during Q3 2020 with a Speed Score of 103.57. This was more than double that of second-place Telekom. O2 was third.
Switzerland’s fastest providers are Swisscom (mobile) and Salt (fixed broadband)
Internet Performance of Top Mobile Providers in Switzerland
Speedtest Intelligence® | Modern Chipsets in Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ |
|---|---|
| Swisscom | 57.10 |
| Sunrise | 46.13 |
| Salt | 38.79 |
The fastest mobile operator in Switzerland during Q3 2020 was Swisscom with a Speed Score of 57.10. Sunrise was second and Salt third.
Internet Performance of Top Fixed Providers in Switzerland
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ |
|---|---|
| Salt | 290.89 |
| UPC | 150.45 |
| Quickline | 95.18 |
| net+ | 82.98 |
| Sunrise | 79.40 |
| Swisscom | 76.73 |
Salt was the fastest fixed broadband provider in Switzerland during Q3 2020 with a Speed Score of 290.89 — nearly twice as high as second-place UPC. Quickline was third, net+ was fourth, Sunrise fifth and Swisscom sixth.
We compared five-star ratings and NPS data to providers’ performance to understand how speeds impacted customer perceptions of German, Austrian and Swiss providers. Speedtest Consumer Sentiment data is gathered from single-question surveys presented to users at the end of a Speedtest®. This data set provides rich insights into customer satisfaction over time, as well as competitive benchmarking, by providing data on both Net Promoter Score (NPS) and customers’ overall satisfaction with their network providers.
Provider performance vs. ratings
Consumer Sentiment includes data on how users rate providers on a five-star scale. We compared ratings data from Austrian, German and Swiss providers in Q3 2020 with Speed Score to better understand the relationship between network performance and customers’ overall satisfaction with their network providers.
In Austria, A1 rated highest for mobile, kabelplus for fixed broadband
Internet Performance and Five-Star Ratings of Top Mobile Providers in Austria
Speedtest Intelligence® | Modern Chipsets in Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | 61.55 | 3.8 |
| 3 | 43.55 | 3.3 |
| Magenta Telekom | 41.00 | 3.4 |
Ratings aligned with performance in Austria during Q3 2020 with A1 coming first for ratings and Speed Score among Austrian mobile operators.
Internet Performance and Five-Star Ratings of Top Fixed Providers in Austria
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Magenta | 81.21 | 3.2 |
| 3 | 26.39 | 3.0 |
| A1 | 24.84 | 2.7 |
On fixed broadband, Magenta showed the highest rating among users in Austria during Q3 2020. Three was second and A1 was third for ratings on fixed broadband.
In Germany, Telekom highest rated for mobile, Telekom for fixed broadband
Internet Performance and Five-Star Ratings of Top Mobile Providers in Germany
Speedtest Intelligence® | Modern Chipsets in Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Tekelom | 49.09 | 3.9 |
| Vodafone | 29.69 | 3.1 |
| 1&1 | 23.18 | 3.0 |
| O2 | 22.65 | 3.2 |
In Germany, the mobile operator with the highest rating, Telekom, was also the fastest provider during Q3 2020. The rest of the rankings did not follow the order of network performance, but the spread between rankings was relatively small.
Internet Performance and Five-Star Ratings of Top Fixed Providers in Germany
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Vodafone | 103.57 | 2.9 |
| Telekom | 44.28 | 3.3 |
| O2 | 38.38 | 3.1 |
On fixed broadband, the highest-rated provider in Germany during Q3 2020 was Telekom. Despite having a much higher Speed Score than competitors, Vodafone was rated lowest by consumers.
Swisscom rated highest for mobile in Switzerland, Salt for fixed broadband
Internet Performance and Five-Star Ratings of Top Mobile Providers in Switzerland
Speedtest Intelligence® | Modern Chipsets in Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Swisscom | 57.10 | 3.6 |
| Sunrise | 46.13 | 3.2 |
| Salt | 38.79 | 2.9 |
Swisscom was both the highest-rated mobile operator in Switzerland during Q3 2020 and the operator with the best Speed Score. The spread between highest- and lowest-rated mobile operators was very narrow at less than a star.
Internet Performance and Five-Star Ratings of Top Fixed Providers in Switzerland
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Salt | 290.89 | 3.5 |
| UPC | 150.45 | 3.2 |
| Quickline | 95.18 | 3.5 |
| net+ | 82.98 | 3.5 |
| Sunrise | 79.40 | 3.4 |
| Swisscom | 76.73 | 3.5 |
On the fixed broadband side, Salt, net+, and Swisscom and Quickline tied for the highest rating in Switzerland during Q3 2020 despite a wide difference in Speed Score. The difference between the highest-rated provider and lowest-rated was again very small on fixed broadband.
Provider performance vs. NPS
Speedtest users are also asked how likely they are to recommend their provider to friends or family on a 0 to 10 scale. NPS ratings are categorized into Detractors (score 0-6), Passives (score 7-8), and Promoters (score 9-10). NPS is calculated as (% Promoters – % Detractors) x 100. Any NPS score above 0 indicates that a provider’s audience is more loyal than not. We compared the resulting Net Promoter Score (NPS) with Speed Score to see how performance relates to a user’s likelihood of recommending a provider.
A1 had highest NPS on mobile in Austria, kabelplus highest on fixed broadband
Internet Performance of Top Mobile Providers in Austria
Speedtest Intelligence® | Modern Chipsets in Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ | NPS |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | 61.55 | 1.58 |
| 3 | 43.55 | -39.67 |
| Magenta Telekom | 41.00 | -20.18 |
A1 showed the highest NPS among mobile operators in Austria in Q3 2020, while Magenta Telekom and 3 showed negative NPS. This suggests that users were not to recommend these operators.
Internet Performance of Top Fixed Providers in Austria
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ | NPS |
|---|---|---|
| Magenta | 81.21 | -28.97 |
| 3 | 26.39 | -36.00 |
| A1 | 24.84 | -51.63 |
Magenta had the highest NPS among fixed broadband providers in Austria in Q3 2020, followed by 3 and A1. No providers had positive NPS values.
Telekom had highest NPS on mobile and fixed broadband in Germany
Internet Performance of Top Mobile Providers in Germany
Speedtest Intelligence® | Modern Chipsets in Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ | NPS |
|---|---|---|
| Tekelom | 49.09 | 14.82 |
| Vodafone | 29.69 | -37.74 |
| 1&1 | 23.18 | -58.65 |
| O2 | 22.65 | -34.59 |
Not only did Telekom have the highest NPS on mobile in Germany during Q3 2020, it was also the only mobile operator with a positive NPS, indicating consumers were likely to recommend the operator. As we saw above, Telekom was also the fastest operator and the most highly rated.
Internet Performance of Top Fixed Providers in Germany
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ | NPS |
|---|---|---|
| Vodafone | 103.57 | -50.26 |
| Telekom | 44.28 | -27.10 |
| O2 | 38.38 | -40.76 |
Telekom had the highest NPS among fixed broadband providers in Germany during Q3 2020. However, all fixed broadband providers showed negative NPS values.
Swisscom had highest NPS on mobile in Switzerland, Salt on fixed broadband
Internet Performance of Top Mobile Providers in Switzerland
Speedtest Intelligence® | Modern Chipsets in Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ | NPS |
|---|---|---|
| Swisscom | 57.10 | -2.74 |
| Sunrise | 46.13 | -24.66 |
| Salt | 38.79 | -46.75 |
Along with having the highest Speed Score in Switzerland and earning the highest ratings from customers, Swisscom had the highest NPS on mobile in Switzerland during Q3 2020. That said, all Swiss mobile operators showed negative NPS values, suggesting that consumers were not likely to recommend these operators to friends or family.
Internet Performance of Top Fixed Providers in Switzerland
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2020
| Provider | Speed Score™ | NPS |
|---|---|---|
| Salt | 290.89 | -1.24 |
| UPC | 150.45 | -23.70 |
| Quickline | 95.18 | -18.29 |
| net+ | 82.98 | -8.33 |
| Sunrise | 79.40 | -10.93 |
| Swisscom | 76.73 | -10.34 |
Salt, whose Speed Score was almost double that of its nearest competitor, had the highest NPS of any fixed broadband provider in Switzerland during Q3 2020. Among the other providers, speed rankings did not otherwise match the provider rankings for NPS in Switzerland, with second-fastest UPC showing the lowest NPS.
While the fastest speeds don’t always correlate to the highest ratings from customers, there is a clear relationship between the performance, quality and availability of networks and customer satisfaction. As more mobile operators in the DACH countries continue to deploy 5G — and high-speed fiber internet becomes more available in the region — it will be interesting to watch speeds continue to climb. We will continue to monitor both network metrics and Consumer Sentiment data for the region and to surface these insights so providers can understand how and where to improve their networks.