Berlin, June 3, 2024 – With a view to the European elections on June 9, the German Broadband Association (BREKO) is calling for competition in the telecommunications market to be strengthened in order to achieve the EU’s connectivity goals.

Lisia Mix, Head of Federal and European Policy at BREKO: “European telecommunications policy over the next few years will have a decisive influence on whether the EU achieves its connectivity goals and creates a sustainable digital infrastructure for the coming decades. In particular, nationwide fibre optic networks are an indispensable basis for the successful digitalization of the European economy and society. ”

In essence, the German fiber optic association is calling for five points:

Ensure fair competition:

The great diversity of companies should be seen as a strength of the European telecommunications market and not be sacrificed in favor of a few large corporations. After all, it is precisely the competitors of the ex-monopolists that are driving the expansion of fiber optics. They can only offer citizens innovative solutions and high-quality services on the basis of fair competition. “So far, there are no valid arguments as to why a more consolidated telecommunications market with a few large players should lead to more investment,” states Mix.

Strengthen fiber optic expansion and sustainability through rapid copper-fiber optic migration:

The rapid shutdown of old copper networks is an important lever to support the expansion of fiber optics and at the same time reduce the ICT sector’s electricity consumption. However, this transition from DSL to fiber optic connections must not be strategically used by copper network operators to transfer their market power to the fiber optic network. To prevent this, the EU must, as already announced in its White Paper on the future of digital infrastructures, work to ensure that national regulatory authorities guarantee a competitive switch-off process.

Regulation as the basis for effective competition:

European regulation of the telecommunications sector should promote competition and encourage investment in fiber optic networks. In view of the continued considerable market power of the ex-monopolists, a complete transition from the previous ex-ante regulation to ex-post regulation (“regulation light”) would not be expedient at present.

No distortion of competition through “fair share” payments:

Involving large tech companies in the costs of network expansion could boost the momentum of fiber optic expansion. Should the next EU Commission consider such a regulation, it would have to be implemented in a way that ensures fair competition in the telecommunications market. A solution that relies on individual agreements between network operators and large tech companies would put small and medium-sized telecommunications companies at a severe disadvantage and weaken the overall momentum in fiber optic expansion.

Use of the upper 6 GHz frequency band for Gigabit W-LAN:

A smart frequency policy should be in line with the expansion of fiber optic networks. The 6 GHz frequency band can transmit multi-gigabit speeds. To ensure that the speeds that are brought to buildings and homes via fiber optics reach users even when many devices are used simultaneously via Wi-Fi, the continuous usability of the upper 6 GHz frequency band must be ensured and must not be reserved exclusively for mobile communications.

BREKO, together with other European industry associations, has formulated further demands on future European telecommunications policy in the “European Election Paper 2024” of the European Local Fibre Alliance (ELFA), which is available for download here: https://www.e-lfa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ELFA