German Federal Court Rules That Internet Connection Is Crucial To Everyday Life

Qedward writes "Internet access is as crucial to everyday life as having a phone connection and the loss of connectivity is deserving of financial compensation, the German Federal Court of Justice has ruled. Because having an internet connection is so significant for a large part of the German population, a customer whose service provider failed to provide connectivity between December 2008 and February 2009 is entitled to compensation, the court ruled today. 'It is the first time the court ruled that an internet connection is as important a commodity as having a phone,' said court spokeswoman Dietlind Weinland. The court, however, denied the plaintiff's request of €50 a day for his fax machine not working."

Phone / Internet

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't get compensation if your phone is out of order, why should you for internet?

What if the internet is down because the phone is? It isn't the ISPs fault but the owner of the copper.

As important as a phone!?

[Anonymous Coward]

I certainly have had no major difficulties living without a phone my whole life but going without an internet connection for a week deserves some significant preparation and, for two months, would require a radical shift in my way of life.

I know my having an internet connection but no phone puts me in an extreme minority but I had no idea it was common opinion that a phone is as essential as an internet connection.

So will my isp stop dropping me when i hit a cap?

[detain]

I'm one of the many people who have a "high-speed" broadband account advertised as what to buy for streaming online media, but the ISP gives a 200gb cap and drops you as a client if you go over it for more than 2 months. Watching Netflix HD video only a few hours a day hits that cap in no time, making the account not actually usable for what its advertised. I hope the effects of this ruling eventually trickles down to my country and this type of dropping a user is made illegal. At the very least switching a user to a more throttled connection would be a good compromise. Oh the ISP that does this is ptd.net, but alot of ISPs have similar practices.

Re:As important as a phone!?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd have extreme difficulty even doing two days - I telecommute 80+% of the time, and I'm paid hourly, so if my internet was out for more than a few hours, I have to go live in a Starbucks or some place with a connection I can use, or accept losing several hundred dollars. If it were out two months like this guy, I'd be suing too.