Bonn, 23.09.2024 – Telekom Deutschland announced today that it has joined BUGLAS. Dr. Stephan Albers, Managing Director of the Bundesverband Breitbandkommunikation e.V. (BREKO), explains:

“With the admission of the former monopolist, BUGLAS is giving up its identity as a representative of competitors’ interests in fiber optic expansion and is becoming the German Telecom Association. Following the withdrawal of its largest member companies, BUGLAS is now becoming dependent on the market-dominating company. As a result, it loses the opportunity to help shape the telecommunications market in the interests of competitors and to position itself on issues that are important for competitors and the nationwide expansion of fiber optics.

This applies above all to the urgently needed regulation of a competition-compliant shutdown of DSL networks – the so-called copper-fiber optic migration, Telekom’s destructive-strategic fiber optic double expansion and the necessary reintroduction of a mobile service provider obligation.

A number of the more than 500 BREKO member companies also cooperate with Telekom. But in view of Telekom’s overwhelming market power, they can count on a strong association at their side that is committed to fair open access and genuine competition in the telecommunications market. And of course BREKO is also committed to cooperation with Telekom. But they must take place on an equal footing and not follow a model dictated by the market-powerful company.

As the leading fiber optic association, we now see it as our responsibility to stand up for the interests of competitors with their different business models, which, according to the current BREKO Market Analysis 2024, continue to account for more than 60 percent of the real fiber optic expansion in Germany.”