Berlin/Munich, 16.08.24 – Since 2009, Stadtwerke München and its subsidiary M-Net have connected almost 70 percent of Munich’s households with fiber optic to the buildings and in some cases to the apartments. Deutsche Telekom has now announced its intention to build over the existing network in the city center. Dr. Stephan Albers, Managing Director of the German Broadband Association (BREKO), explains:

“Deutsche Telekom’s dual expansion is apparently reaching a new dimension. While many large cities in Germany and Bavaria are still waiting for the initial rollout, the market-dominating company prefers to expand in areas where two thirds of households already have access to the fiber optic network. With such advances, the nationwide expansion of fiber optics is being slowed down against its better judgment. Telekom is tying up construction resources that are more urgently needed elsewhere, damaging the environment more than necessary and burdening Munich residents, whose sidewalks and streets are being torn up twice.

Telekom’s current approach underscores what the interim dual expansion report by the Federal Network Agency’s monitoring body from April also shows: According to this report, in the majority of reported dual expansion cases, Telekom has limited itself only to particularly lucrative core areas – this now applies again in Munich. As BREKO, we are calling for a solution in which Telekom commits to the existing open access agreement for the existing network. In view of the political goal of nationwide fiber-optic expansion, the federal government and the Federal Network Agency are now also obliged to take measures against Telekom’s economically absurd behavior.”