1&1 takes a beating in court: fiber only to the curb - DSL in the house

Put fiber optics on it, DSL inside? Not with the court!

Internet provider 1&1 has received a resounding slap in the face from the Koblenz Regional Court. The accusation: misleading advertising with alleged fiber-optic Internet. The company had widely advertised its "fiber-optic DSL" tariff - although in many cases it was not a real fiber-optic connection that arrived at the home. As reported by heise online, the court has prohibited 1&1 from continuing to advertise this connection in this way.

What happened? Consumers could carry out an availability test on the 1&1 website. If the test was completed "positively", it was suggested: Congratulations, you're getting fiber optics! In reality, however, the fiber optic line often ended at the next distribution box in the street - from there it continued the old-fashioned way via copper cable. And that is a huge technical difference.

Consumer advice center: "Deception with turbo promises"

The Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) sued - and was proved right. The decisive point: many users were unable to recognize that the tariff was so-called "vectoring" - i.e. a mix of fibre to the street (FTTC - fibre to the curb) and copper cable to the house. Technically, this is still DSL, not fiber optics.

The consumer advice center made its position very clear: "Anyone who apparently promises fiber optics but can only deliver DSL is deceiving consumers." And further: "High-speed Internet must not be an empty advertising promise."

The court took the same view. Although 1&1's availability test informed users that it was a "fiber-optic DSL" - i.e. not a "fully-fledged" fiber-optic connection - this information was not clear enough to prevent misleading information, according to the judges.

1&1 appeals - but the signal is clear

The ruling from September 16, 2025 (Ref. 3 HK O 69/24) is not yet legally binding, as 1&1 intends to appeal (Ref. 9 U 990/25). But the court's message is unmistakable: Whoever says fiber optics must also deliver fiber optics - to the home.

The dispute shows once again how confusing the German broadband market is for consumers. The terms "DSL", "VDSL", "fiber-optic DSL" and "real fiber" are often used creatively - some say deliberately misleadingly - by providers. Many people don't even know that there are huge differences in performance between "fiber to the home" (FTTH) and "fiber to the street" (FTTC).

Classification: One could assume intent

Once again, the greed for customers - and their ignorance - was being played on here. Anyone who labels a DSL cable "fiber optic" is playing with people's trust. Instead of Internet speed, consumer disappointment is delivered here. If you want to market the future of digital infrastructure in Germany, you should at least play with open cards.