Bonn/Berlin, 14.10.2021

In BREKO’s view, the Federal Network Agency’s draft decision presented on Monday of this week on the future regulation of telecommunications companies’ access to Telekom’s local loop is a step in the right direction. BREKO welcomes the Federal Network Agency’s proposal for the future regulation of fiber-optic networks.

By implementing the principle of “Equivalence of Input” (EoI), which is also enshrined in law in the new Telecommunications Act, the Federal Network Agency is implementing a key component for fair regulation of fiber optic networks. The concept stipulates that wholesale customers have access to the same material and personnel resources as Telekom’s sales department. This means, for example, that the same databases for information on connections and the same technician resources for provisioning and fault clearance can be used, thereby significantly reducing the risk of abuse of the dominant market position.

With the new regulatory approach, the Federal Network Agency is ensuring the implementation of the open access principle for fiber optic networks, which will then take precedence over regulatory intervention in fiber optic networks. BREKO Managing Director Dr. Stephan Albers explains: “The open access concept envisaged by the Federal Network Agency is a key factor for the further expansion of fiber optics. The details, such as Telekom’s monitoring and reporting obligations or the scope of the adjustments to processes and systems required for EoI, will still have to be discussed. However, it is also important that the Federal Network Agency takes the abuse supervision imposed on it seriously in the event of violations of the EoI principle by Telekom and actively exercises this supervision if there are indications of violations.”

BREKO also takes a positive view of the fundamental retention of the existing regulatory approach for Telekom’s copper network. This is justified due to the different competitive history and market structure compared to the fiber-optic network. In BREKO’s view, however, the “BNG-VULA”, the new standard wholesale product for consumers, should also have been subject to prior approval. In future, Deutsche Telekom will only be subject to a notification obligation with the possibility of subsequent abuse control. In particular, the agreement between Telekom and a few large wholesale customers used by the BNetzA to justify the low regulatory intensity of the “BNG-VULA” is not acceptable, as this agreement does not reflect the market structure and does not take into account the interests of small and medium-sized providers. The scope of regulation must not be determined by a few companies, but must be carried out by the BNetzA with a view to the overall interests in the market.