In the broadband and fixed network test of the German trade magazine “Connect”, the regional provider Salzburg AG was ahead of the curve this time. Magenta, on the other hand, performed best among the nationwide providers. Salzburg AG scored 924 out of 1,000 points across all categories (high-speed Internet, web services and web TV), Magenta scored 886 points, according to a broadcast.
Austria’s market leader A1 makes it nationwide in second place with 872 points. Among the regional providers, the Lower Austrian provider Kabelplus came in second best with 898 points, which is better than Magenta and A1. In a direct comparison, Salzburg AG was in first place, linked by Kabelplus, Magenta and A1. In the high-speed internet measurements, Magenta and Salzburg AG achieved the best result ex aequo.
In addition to the best result in high-speed internet, Salzburg AG also achieved the highest number of points in the categories of web services and web TV, making it the best internet provider in Austria. The service is only available in Salzburg, Mondseeland, Ausseerland and the Styrian communities Schladming and Rohrmoos.
The Lower Austrian provider Kabelplus scored 898 points and thus also offers better Internet than the nationwide providers. The Upper Austrian provider Liwest received 855 points. All three regional providers received the note “an alternative worth considering for customers” to the large providers, responsible for the responsible “Connect” author Hannes Rügheimer according to the broadcast. In the assessment, it should be taken into account that the network expansion is easier in a shorter supply area and that runtime measurements (ping) can deliver better results over shorter distances.
Magenta is a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom and, according to “Connect”, believes around 650,000 landline customers. This makes the company the largest provider in Austria after A1. In addition to the high-speed measurements, Magenta also achieved excellent results in the web service category, for example in the response times of gaming servers, and was also given an overall rating of “very good”. There is “slight potential for improvement” when accessing YouTube videos, it said in the broadcast.
With around two million landline customers, A1 is the largest Internet provider in Austria. The A1 results were good for web services and very good for web TV tests, but “Connect” sees room for improvement in the high-speed Internet category. Overall, it was also rated “very good” here.
The Austrian Internet provider Telematica, which is active throughout Austria, achieved 806 points and received the grade “good”, three was just behind with 802 points and also received the grade “good”.
Despite the changed requirements due to the corona crisis, such as increased use of home office and homeschooling, the test showed that the Austrian networks are stable. All tested providers were rated “very good” or “good”.
For the test, a total of 797,863 measurements were carried out at 22 test connections in ten Austrian cities from August 16 to September 12, 2021. The selection of the test connections is based on the distribution in the market.