Only 70 percent of the largest clinics and hospitals in Germany offer free WiFi in their patient rooms. But almost a third takes money for surfing at the bedside – up to 5 euros a day or 30 euros a week. A current market analysis by the comparison portal Verivox shows where it is most expensive for patients.
The largest university hospitals charge up to 5 euros a day for surfing
Of the ten largest university hospitals in Germany, seven offer free WiFi; the three other houses or associations allow the use of WLAN for a fee. The usual cost model is daily or weekly tickets. In the university hospitals examined, internet use costs 3 to 5 euros per day. If you book use for seven days, you pay between 15 and 30 euros.
At the university clinics in Kiel/Lübeck, for example, 3.50 euros are due per day and 24.50 euros for 10 days. Surfing at the University Hospital in Augsburg is also subject to a fee: 3 euros per day or 15 euros for a week. According to Verivox research, the most expensive hospital among the largest German university hospitals is the Mainz University Medical Center. Patients there pay 5 euros a day and 30 euros for a week.
Light and shadow in private hospital operators
The situation with private providers is quite different. For example, according to the operator, WLAN use is free of charge in all houses at Helios, the largest private clinic operator. In the private Asklepios and Sana clinics, there is no cost model that applies across the Group; costs vary by location. Some facilities provide WiFi for free, while others charge a fee. In the hospitals examined, these are about as high as in the university hospitals (e.g. 3 euros per day or 15 euros for 7 days).
Digital infrastructure is complex and expensive
The Hospital Future Act, which came into force in 2020, should give German clinics three billion euros in additional funds for digitization, IT security and modern emergency capacities. “Operators and politicians face a major challenge on the way to the digital hospital,” says Jens-Uwe Theumer, Vice President Telecommunications at Verivox. “Setting up a digital infrastructure requires extensive on-site investments. This not only applies to the networking of buildings, but also to the purchase of server capacities, software licenses and devices. There are also complex security issues and IT support, which is neglected in many public institutions.”
Every third German hospital without gigabit internet
There is often a problem with the basics: 32.6 percent of German clinics are not connected to fast gigabit internet. According to the Federal Broadband Atlas, the gigabit coverage of hospitals is lowest in Saxony-Anhalt (44 percent), Thuringia (41 percent) and Saxony (34 percent).
The city states perform best: Hamburg’s clinics are ahead of Berlin (86 percent) and Bremen (79 percent) with a gigabit rate of 95 percent. Among the non-city states, the hospitals in Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Bavaria have the best care with values between 77 and 73 percent.
Gap between town and country and east and west
When it comes to the provision of future-proof Internet connections, clinics in large cities perform significantly better than those in rural areas. Baden-Württemberg has the largest urban-rural divide: Stuttgart clinics have full access to gigabit internet, but only 32 percent of hospitals in rural areas. Frankfurt am Main, Hanover, Munich and Cologne also achieve top values: the hospitals’ Internet supply there is also 100 percent gigabit-capable. Halle/Saale brings up the rear in the study with a coverage of only 24 percent. The clinics in Leipzig and Erfurt also record low gigabit values with 48 and 50 percent coverage respectively.
The pent-up demand in East Germany has a historical background. After reunification, optical connection lines were laid over fiber optics to set up the telephone network instead of the copper cables used in the West at the time. “What initially sounds progressive turned out to be an own goal,” says Theumer: “The lines laid immediately after reunification were not yet suitable for broadband; retrofitting at a reasonable cost only became possible many years later. That’s why the first broadband boom rushed to eastern Germany to a large extent over.”
methodology
In May 2023, Verivox researched the WLAN costs for patients in the 10 largest German university hospitals and hospital groups (according to the number of beds) (Bochum Hospital Group, Charité Berlin, University Hospitals in Kiel/Lübeck, Heidelberg, Gießen/Marburg, Freiburg, Munich, Augsburg, Hamburg-Eppendorf and Mainz). In addition, the WLAN costs of the three largest private clinic operators Asklepios, Helios and Sana were requested from the operators (as of May 2023, ranking also by number of beds). The random sample included at least one house from northern, southern, eastern and western Germany per provider.
Data from the Federal Network Agency’s broadband atlas was used for gigabit availability in hospitals. The supply data for the largest city in each federal state was compared with the values for all rural communities in a federal state (named “rural room category” in the atlas). Gigabit connections can be either fiber or cable based. Nationwide, 9,880 hospitals are listed in the broadband atlas. Status of the data: June 2022 (was subsequently adjusted by the Federal Network Agency from December to June).