Bonn/Berlin, April 24, 2025 – Commenting on the lawsuits filed today by BREKO member companies EWE TEL and Freenet (see dpa report), Sven Knapp, Head of the Capital Office at the German Broadband Association (BREKO), said:

“BREKO welcomes the lawsuits filed by EWE TEL and Freenet against the Federal Network Agency’s decision to extend mobile frequencies. These lawsuits are the only logical response to a decision that ignores the warnings of the Federal Cartel Office and the Monopolies Commission against cementing unequal competitive conditions in mobile communications.

Although the Administrative Court of Cologne had already overturned the decision on the last frequency allocation in 2019 – also following complaints by EWE TEL and Freenet – the decision of March 24, 2025 merely added guard rails to the negotiation requirement introduced at that time, which do not allow fair competition in mobile communications. With this completely inadequate measure and the renewed renunciation of an effective service provider obligation that would sustainably strengthen competition, the Federal Network Agency is protecting the market power of the established mobile network operators Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica – at the expense of consumers and business customers.”