Moved Into a New Building? Your Internet Might Take Months, Not Weeks
A standard internet connection in an already-wired German building typically takes 6 to 14 business days, depending on whether the line is remotely switchable or a technician actually has to show up. In a genuinely new building (Neubau), that timeline doesn't apply, and providers won't necessarily volunteer this upfront: real customer reports describe waits stretching to several months, sometimes 7 months or longer, and the causes are structural rather than a one-off mistake. The most common bottleneck is port capacity, if the local distribution point has no free port available, your connection simply waits until capacity opens up, with no fixed date attached. On top of that, technician appointments in high-demand areas get overbooked and rescheduled, and each step involves internal documentation that has to clear before the next one starts. If getting online quickly matters more than getting your final contracted speed quickly, a mobile router using a SIM card is worth treating as a genuine bridge option, not a last resort, while the fixed line works through the queue.
The Official Rule
Getting internet connected in Germany looks straightforward on paper: providers typically quote 6 to 14 business days for a standard connection, and for a building with existing, active infrastructure, that’s often roughly accurate, whether it takes the shorter or longer end of that range depends mainly on whether the line can be activated remotely or actually needs a technician on site.
That timeline quietly stops applying once you’re in a genuinely new building, and providers don’t always make this distinction clear when you sign up. Real customer reports describe waits stretching to several months in new construction specifically, with cases of 7 months or longer showing up repeatedly in provider community forums and consumer complaints, not as rare outliers but as a recognizable pattern tied specifically to Neubau addresses.
| Factor | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Port capacity | No free port at the local distribution point means an open-ended wait until capacity is added |
| Technician overbooking | High-demand areas see appointments delayed and rescheduled repeatedly |
| Internal documentation | Each step needs internal processing to clear before the next one starts |
| Standard 6-14 day quote | Assumes existing, already-active infrastructure, doesn't reflect new-construction reality |
Port capacity is the single most commonly cited bottleneck, and it’s genuinely outside what an individual customer can push past. If the local distribution point serving your building has no free port for an active connection, your order effectively waits in a queue until the provider physically or technically adds capacity there, no amount of following up faster on your own paperwork moves that particular constraint forward.
Technician scheduling adds a second, compounding layer of delay. In areas with high demand, appointments get overbooked, and reports describe technicians being unable to keep up with the volume of scheduled visits, leading to repeated rescheduling rather than a single, predictable appointment. On top of both of these, each stage of the process, from order to technical activation, involves internal documentation that has to be completed before the next step proceeds, adding further unpredictability rather than a single clear countdown.
Given all of this, the practical response worth taking seriously is treating a mobile router as a genuine bridge, not an afterthought. A SIM-card-based mobile router, using a flexible or short-term data plan, can realistically cover a family’s actual daily needs, work, school, general connectivity, for the months a fixed-line Neubau connection might take, and it’s worth arranging this at the same time you place your fixed-line order rather than only after weeks of frustration.
What Real People Say
Provider community forums are full of detailed, first-person accounts of new-construction waits stretching well beyond what was originally quoted, and the recurring theme in these accounts isn’t anger at any single failure, it’s frustration at the lack of a firm timeline or clear communication about why the delay is happening, which is part of why asking directly and specifically about port and infrastructure status at your exact address, before signing anything, is the advice that comes up most consistently.
Independent consumer testing coverage of the broader technician-wait problem in Germany frames it as a systemic capacity issue rather than an isolated failure by any one provider, reinforcing that this isn’t a problem you’re likely to sidestep entirely just by choosing a different company.
Step by Step
- Before signing a contract for a Neubau address, ask your provider directly whether an active port and completed line infrastructure already exist there, don’t accept a generic 6-14 day quote without this confirmation.
- Place your order as early as possible after your move-in date is confirmed, given how port capacity and technician queues work, earlier orders generally clear sooner.
- Arrange a mobile SIM-card router as a genuine bridge solution at the same time, rather than waiting until weeks of frustration have passed.
- Follow up periodically but don’t expect your own follow-ups to resolve a port-capacity constraint, that specific bottleneck is an infrastructure issue, not a customer-service one.
- If the wait stretches well beyond what was quoted, document the timeline and consider raising it with consumer protection resources if you believe you’re not being kept properly informed.
Compliance Note
This page explains general patterns and commonly reported timelines for internet setup in new German construction, but individual providers, buildings, and regions vary significantly. For your specific address, confirm current infrastructure status and realistic timelines directly with your chosen provider.
FAQ & Common Pitfalls
Our provider quoted us the standard 6-14 day timeline when we signed up for our new-construction apartment. Should we trust that?
Treat it with real skepticism specifically for Neubau addresses. That 6-14 day figure applies to already-wired buildings where the connection is a matter of switching or a routine technician visit, not to buildings where the underlying infrastructure itself may still need work. It's worth asking your provider directly and explicitly whether your specific address already has an active port and completed line infrastructure, rather than accepting a generic timeline that wasn't necessarily calculated for your situation.
What does it actually mean that there's 'no free port,' and is there anything we can do about it?
It means the local distribution point serving your building has reached its capacity for active connections, and until the provider adds capacity there, physically or through network upgrades, new connections simply can't be activated, regardless of how quickly your own paperwork and technician visit are handled. This isn't something an individual customer can push past or expedite, it's an infrastructure-level constraint, which is exactly why it can turn a routine order into a months-long wait with no firm date.
Is it worth signing up with a mobile router as a backup while we wait, or should we just wait it out?
Given that waits of several months are genuinely common in new construction, treating a mobile SIM-card router as a real bridge solution, not just an emergency backup, tends to be the more practical approach, especially for a family that needs reliable internet for work, school, or daily life regardless of what's happening with the fixed-line order. Many providers offer short-term or flexible mobile data plans specifically suited to this kind of gap.