A provider sold you a symmetric gigabit connection but real-world speeds are a fraction of that — and blames your Wi-Fi or your router. EU law gives you a real remedy here, but the measurement method matters more than most people realise.
What the regulation actually requires
Regulation (EU) 2015/2120, the Open Internet Regulation, requires internet providers to clearly disclose the minimum, normally available, maximum and advertised speeds for fixed connections, and to explain what remedies are available if real performance doesn't match what was disclosed.
Critically, the Regulation states that a significant, continuous or regularly recurring discrepancy between actual and advertised performance is only formally deemed "non-conformity" — the trigger for remedies — where the facts are established by a monitoring mechanism certified by the national regulatory authority. An ordinary browser-based speed test you ran yourself is useful evidence to start a complaint, but the certified national tool is what actually establishes non-conformity for the purposes of Article 4.
The remedy comes from your country's law, not directly from the Regulation
This is the part often oversimplified: the Regulation itself doesn't hand every EU consumer an automatic Europe-wide right to a penalty-free exit. It requires that a remedy exist, and requires providers to disclose what that remedy is — but the actual remedy (repair obligation, compensation, or contract termination) is defined by each member state's national law. Most EU countries do provide for penalty-free termination after a persistent, certified shortfall, but check your specific country's implementing rules and your national regulator's certified speed-test tool.
Step by step
- Find your national regulator's certified speed-measurement tool (most EU telecom regulators publish one) rather than relying solely on generic third-party speed tests.
- Run measurements at different times of day over at least several days to establish a "continuous or regularly recurring" pattern, not a single result.
- Compare your results against the minimum and normally-available speeds disclosed in your contract, not just the advertised maximum.
- Report the shortfall to your provider and request they investigate and fix it within a reasonable window.
- If unresolved, request the specific remedy available under your country's law — ask directly whether you qualify for penalty-free termination.
What this means practically
- The country your contract is in — not a single EU-wide rule — determines your exact remedy for a certified speed shortfall.
- A certified national measurement tool carries far more weight than an ordinary browser speed test when disputing a provider's denial.
- Providers blaming your Wi-Fi or hardware should be measured against the wired, direct-connection performance, not a wireless result.
- Document a pattern over time — a single slow result rarely meets the "continuous or regularly recurring" threshold the Regulation describes.
Sources
- EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2015/2120, Article 4 (consolidated text): eur-lex.europa.eu
Related Kibbo Tools
- Broadband Service Problem Checklist — run and log the diagnostics needed to build a credible speed-shortfall case.