Apply for arbitration in case of a dispute with a telecommunications provider

If you have a dispute with your telecommunications provider, you can, under certain conditions, contact the Telecommunications Arbitration Board of the Federal Network Agency. It can help resolve the dispute without having to resort to a court.

The aim of the conciliation procedure is to reach an amicable settlement as quickly as possible in the interest of both parties. This helps to avoid lengthy and potentially expensive court proceedings.

You can submit a request for dispute resolution to the Telecommunications Arbitration Board if you have already tried unsuccessfully to resolve the matter with your provider yourself. Telecommunications providers primarily include internet, mobile, and landline providers.

Your application must show that your dispute is related to specific telecommunications law provisions that serve to protect customers. This may be the case, for example, if:

• Your line is out of order,
• the data transmission rate is too low or
• other contractually agreed services are not complied with,
• to object to the invoice,
• argue with your provider about the termination of contracts or contract terms.

Before the Telecommunications Arbitration Board initiates arbitration proceedings, it checks whether the prerequisites for doing so are met. For example, the Arbitration Board cannot take action if your request has no relation to the consumer protection regulations of telecommunications law.

You can submit your request for conciliation online, by email, or by post.

Please preferably use the online application form.

To submit the application online:

• Fill out the online application form of the Telecommunications Arbitration Board on the Federal Network Agency's website and attach the necessary documents.
• The conciliation body checks whether the requirements for initiating conciliation proceedings are met.
• If conciliation is possible, both you and your provider will be given the opportunity to present your respective views.
• The procedure is voluntary for both parties. Therefore, it must be terminated if your telecommunications provider refuses to participate in the procedure.
• The procedure is generally conducted in writing.
• In many cases, the provider offers an individual solution on its own initiative to resolve the dispute.
• If the provider does not offer such a solution, the conciliation body will draw up an individual settlement proposal in order to achieve an amicable agreement.
• If you and your telecommunications provider accept the conciliation proposal, the conciliation body will terminate the conciliation proceedings.
• If the parties do not accept this proposal, you have the option to go to court.

If you want to submit your application by email or post:

• Download the form "Application for conciliation pursuant to Section 68 of the Telecommunications Act" from the website of the Federal Network Agency. Note: The supplementary explanations from the online application are not available to you in this process.
• Fill out the form and attach the required documents.
• Send the application and documents by email or mail to the Federal Network Agency.
• The further procedural steps are the same as for the online procedure.

The duration of the proceedings depends primarily on whether the request for conciliation is complete, whether the parties submit their statements promptly and completely, and whether they are willing to compromise.
From the receipt of the application at the conciliation body to the conclusion of the proceedings, a conciliation procedure takes an average of about 9 weeks.
The time period between the parties' statements and the conciliation proposal is on average about 3 weeks.

The arbitration procedure is free of charge for you and your provider. Each party shall bear its own costs incurred as a result of participating in the procedure, such as telephone costs, postage, or other expenses.

No legal remedies are provided for.