Still no internet, two months later.
As I have come to understand it, our landlady subscribed for DSL from a third-party provider, rather than Deutsche Telekom. However, since Deutsche Telekom has a monopoly over the phone line infrastructure, our provider is stuck having to rely on them to activate the line for DSL service. But of course, since they are a monopoly, they are incredibly inefficient, to the tune of losing 5,000 customers a day. And there is absolutely nothing you can do about it: no consumer abuse department, no class-action lawsuits, no bitching on the hot-line (since they never answer).
Long live government-protected industries.
Deutsche Telekom doesn’t have a monopoly over the phone line infrastructure – it’s just that they built all the stuff, back in the day. Companies like Arcor have a net of their own, yet still often prefer to rent the last mile instead of building their own. Access to the last mile is mandated by law and regulated by the Bundesnetzagentur, one of the only sane agencies we have left. So, Deutsche Telekom isn’t quite a monopoly, but they still, well, suck.
In any case, last I know is that new ports must be finished within two weeks, while switching existing ports over may take up to six weeks. So your problem likely boils down to “not enough threatening calls to the T-Support lines”, by whomever. Alternatively, cancel this neverending contract and get another, preferably under your respective names. When others that are not personally involved do such things, they tend to take a lot longer than necessary.
You can write to the Bundesnetzagentur and voice your complaint, but class-action lawsuits would only be possible if they were actually breaking a law – which they aren’t. And to put in one good word about the current (as of mid 2006) Deutsche Telekom, their hotline is well-reachable, so check if you got the right numbers. Bring some patience, too, just to be sure…
In case you want a new contract, check manitu DSL, they’re a local provider with ok prices, but great customer (a word I prefer muchly over “consumer”) support. They do rent the Telekom lines though.