German court rules the Internet essential
Like the title says.
Link
Quote:
(Reuters) - A German court ruled on Thursday that people have the right to claim compensation from service providers if their Internet access is disrupted, because the Internet is an "essential" part of life.
The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe made the ruling after hearing the case of a man who was unable to use his DSL connection, which also offered a telephone and fax line, for two months from late 2008 to early 2009.
He had already received compensation for the cost of having to use a mobile phone, but wanted to be compensated for not being able to use the Internet. Under German law the loss of use of essential material items can be compensated.
"The Internet plays a very important role today and affects the private life of an individual in very decisive ways. Therefore loss of use of the Internet is comparable to the loss of use of a car," a court spokeswoman told Germany's ARD television.
Bravo I say.
Can't wait till this is implemented here. Maybe by the time I have grand kids we'll get some decent connection speeds and quality services.
Re: German court rules the Internet essential
My cable company would have its own personal Nuremberg
Re: German court rules the Internet essential
Maybe it will force them to streamline their repair procedures. Last time I had a problem it took them 15 days to get it fixed. If they have to compensate you for loss they might be a bit quicker.
The modem in my DSL hookup went out on a Thursday night before a holiday weekend. It also supplied the landline telephone so until I could get to a cell phone I couldn’t report the problem. It was the following Wednesday before the phone company came out to tell me I had to get it repaired by the DSL provider. The DSL company wanted all the information from the phone company and had several other hoops to jump through before they would ship me a new box. The first guy sat on his hands and did nothing, even though they could remotely test the damn thing and see it was not working.
In other words, their smart technology let them know my service was out the moment it happened. They even told me the time it went out. But using that knowledge to be proactive in resolving it seems to never have occurred to them. It is high time they use their junk for something more than data collection.
Bravo for the guy who brought the suite and Bravo to the court.
Re: German court rules the Internet essential
Well, Fisherking,
I would say the same data would be collected if you disconnect your box from the cable or turn off the power, I doubt you would want them to send a technician every time your box disconnects. Also don't forget that the staff is perfect because the private industry is so efficient, it would never hire the wrong people. For more info on that subject see this thread.
In general I think it's a good ruling though and it makes me proud of my country. Eat that all you other-countriers who do not live somewhere in Scandinavia where internet is a human right!
Re: German court rules the Internet essential
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Husar
In general I think it's a good ruling though and it makes me proud of my country.
Yes, but for failure on the part of the company to reasonably deliver the service sold rather than the "human rights" angle.
Quote:
internet is a human right!
Utter nonsense. "The right to bear arms etc.". Oh well. Can't have everything I suppose.
Re: German court rules the Internet essential
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Tellos Athenaios
Yes, but for failure on the part of the company to reasonably deliver the service sold rather than the "human rights" angle.
The ends justify the means.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Tellos Athenaios
Utter nonsense. "The right to bear arms etc.". Oh well. Can't have everything I suppose.
That's also a human right, but unfortunately there aren't enough bears around anymore so I doubt we can get a bear arm for everyone.
Re: German court rules the Internet essential
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Husar
Well, Fisherking,
I would say the same data would be collected if you disconnect your box from the cable or turn off the power, I doubt you would want them to send a technician every time your box disconnects. Also don't forget that the staff is perfect because the private industry is so efficient, it would never hire the wrong people. For more info on that subject see
this thread.
In general I think it's a good ruling though and it makes me proud of my country. Eat that all you other-countriers who do not live somewhere in Scandinavia where internet is a human right!
Telekom told me the modem was out and sent a tech to verify the situation. 1 & 1 wanted the call number and to know what the tech said. If the box is shut off it sends no data so it is not the same. Besides, Telekom’s connection can not be shut off. It is hooked up externally to your home. If a tech comes when you show no service for several hours, is that a bad thing?
Re: German court rules the Internet essential
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fisherking
Telekom told me the modem was out and sent a tech to verify the situation. 1 & 1 wanted the call number and to know what the tech said. If the box is shut off it sends no data so it is not the same. Besides, Telekom’s connection can not be shut off. It is hooked up externally to your home. If a tech comes when you show no service for several hours, is that a bad thing?
If by box you don't mean the modem, what exactly do you mean? I was just saying the modem can be offline for many reasons, that's no reason to send a technician, I turn mine off during the night and when I'm not home for a few hours. I don't think the Telekom can really tell whether your modem is offline or whether you cut the cable. 1&1 uses the Telekom's lines and their technicians as well but since you're a 1&1 customer I think the Telekom will only send anyone if 1&1 requests it because in that case 1&1 will have to pay. Which incidentally is another reason why they won't send anyone, apart from cost savings, they're capitalists after all, on a highly competitive market.
Re: German court rules the Internet essential
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Husar
If by box you don't mean the modem, what exactly do you mean? I was just saying the modem can be offline for many reasons, that's no reason to send a technician, I turn mine off during the night and when I'm not home for a few hours. I don't think the Telekom can really tell whether your modem is offline or whether you cut the cable. 1&1 uses the Telekom's lines and their technicians as well but since you're a 1&1 customer I think the Telekom will only send anyone if 1&1 requests it because in that case 1&1 will have to pay. Which incidentally is another reason why they won't send anyone, apart from cost savings, they're capitalists after all, on a highly competitive market.
I guess you are a notable exception. You seem not to use your land line phone and only use your DSL hookup.
I did see a 1&1 commercial last night that said they promise a next day fix for any outages. They must have streamlined something.
Re: German court rules the Internet essential
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fisherking
I guess you are a notable exception. You seem not to use your land line phone and only use your DSL hookup.
I did see a 1&1 commercial last night that said they promise a next day fix for any outages. They must have streamlined something.
If you're with 1&1 it doesn't matter because you have no real landline usually, unless not otherwise possible 1&1 uses VoIP, I have just one FritzBox and all my computers and my phone are connected to it. On the other end it's directly connected to the copper wire to the street, no other box anywhere. The Box converts the signals of my ISDN phone to VoIP which then uses the internet connection to do the phonecalls. If my internet doesn't work, I can't call anyone either.
As for turning it off, there is no reason to call me while I sleep or am not at home, I usually give people my cellphone number as well.
