From May 18 to 25, 2024, all citizens in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia were called upon to record the network availability of their mobile network providers using the Federal Network Agency’s “Funkloch” app. The aim of the mobile network measurement week is to identify existing gaps in mobile network coverage. Klaus Müller, President of the Federal Network Agency: “Reliable mobile network coverage is a key concern of the Federal Network Agency. We regularly oblige network operators to improve network coverage and check whether these targets are being met. The measurement week is an opportunity to get an even better picture of the situation on the ground. We would be delighted if our dead zone app is used a lot over the next few weeks. We will evaluate the data and want to carry out measurements by our testing and measurement service in selected regions in the summer.”
The Federal Network Agency’s dead spot app enables citizens to record the current network coverage of their mobile network and identify existing dead spots. The individually recorded network availability is stored on the smartphone and transmitted to the Federal Network Agency in anonymized form. This data is integrated into the Federal Network Agency’s dead spot map and analyzed. Based on this collected data, aconium will carry out priority measurements using high-performance scanners next summer. With the help of measuring vehicles equipped with state-of-the-art mobile radio scanners, selected regions in Rhineland-Palatinate will be visited in order to determine a comprehensive picture of local mobile radio coverage – this will also allow the data from the Federal Network Agency to be checked and validated. The results obtained should then help to work even more specifically on seamless mobile coverage and further improve the state’s mobile infrastructure.
The Funkloch app is available to download free of charge and ad-free from the app stores. The Mobile Communications Measurement Week is an initiative of the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Digitization for Rhineland-Palatinate and the mobile communications coordinators in the districts and independent cities in cooperation with the Federal Network Agency. aconium has been working as a service provider for the Rhineland-Palatinate Mobile Communications Clearing House since last summer and provides advice and support in all matters relating to mobile communications, including the implementation of the Mobile Communications Measurement Week.