On January 9, the Federal Network Agency presented its plans for the extension of mobile frequencies at a hearing in Bonn. BREKO and a number of BREKO member companies campaigned on site for the promotion of competition in mobile communications. BREKO also made its points of criticism and suggestions for improvement clear in a personal meeting with BNetzA President Müller and BNetzA Vice President Brönstrup as well as in a written statement. A decision is to be announced in the coming weeks.

The frequency usage rights in the 800 MHz, 1,800 MHz and 2,600 MHz ranges expire at the end of 2025. The frequencies are currently used by the three established mobile network operators. Unlike in the past, the Federal Network Agency plans to extend the rights of use for a limited period and to announce its decision in the first quarter of 2025. To ensure competition, the Federal Network Agency intends to retain the negotiation obligation, which BREKO believes is ineffective. According to the authority’s current plans, this is to be supplemented by guard rails to improve the negotiation requirement.

BREKO sharply criticizes the plans of the Federal Network Agency. Instead of finally creating real competition, the Federal Network Agency is sticking to its course of protecting the mobile top dogs from unwelcome competition. The fact that the authority is reaffirming its commitment to sticking to the hitherto completely ineffective negotiation requirement shows that it is clearly not taking the ruling of the Cologne Administrative Court, which led to the 2018 frequency allocation decision being overturned and calls for greater competition, seriously. The authority cannot ignore the court ruling, as the demands and criticized errors set out in it run like a red thread through the current frequency procedure. Instead of setting up practically useless “guard rails” for a negotiation requirement, the authority must finally ensure effective competition.

This is only possible with a service provider obligation that would prevent years of unsuccessful negotiation attempts and ensure competition. For years, Deutsche Telekom and others have been blocking the offer of high-performance 5G tariffs for competitors without their own mobile network – a clear disadvantage for consumers and business customers. As things stand today, even companies expanding fiber optics would still have no chance of offering competitive bundled products consisting of fiber optic Internet and mobile communications. If the Federal Network Agency continues to oppose a service provider obligation, it should at least impose a genuine ban on discrimination on mobile network operators and thus ensure that service providers are not placed in a worse position than the proprietary sales of the allocation holders and the sales of affiliated companies.

In addition, a ban on ordinary terminations should ensure that service providers and MVNOs can turn to the Federal Network Agency in dispute resolution proceedings without having to fear “retaliatory terminations” by the mobile network operators. In addition, resale bans should be generally prohibited.

BREKO also made the above-mentioned points of criticism clear in a personal meeting with BNetzA President Klaus Müller and Vice President Daniela Brönstrup on January 20.