Mobile phone screen: Ruling: Telekom may not use network display for advertising
Suddenly, "Im besten Netz" appeared instead of "telekom.de" on mobile phones: Some customers wondered if there was something wrong with their device. This is what the Cologne Regional Court objected to in the advertising campaign.
The Landgericht Köln (Cologne District Court) has prohibited Deutsche Telekom from using the net notice "telekom.de" on the mobile screens of its customers by replacing it with a promotional slogan. The Federal Association of Consumer Centres (vzbv) reported that the mobile network provider had replaced its usual network identification with the promotional slogan "Im besten Netz" (In the best network) in January as part of a marketing campaign.
Consumer advocates viewed this as an unfair advertising tactic and sued Deutsche Telekom Germany GmbH. The court agreed with the vzbv, stating that the promotional design by Telekom was "an unreasonable nuisance to market participants" (LG Köln, 17.09.2026, case number 33 O 55/26). The ruling is not yet final, as Telekom has appealed to the Oberlandesgericht Köln (Cologne Higher Regional Court).
According to the vzbv, the telecom company had abused the network identification as a platform for advertising, causing many consumers to worry whether there was something wrong with their network or device, as it could not even be deactivated.
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