The Bundestag’s Digital Committee is holding a public hearing today on the German government’s draft for the Telecommunications Network Expansion Acceleration Act (TK-NABEG). Sven Knapp, Head of the Capital Office at the German Broadband Association (BREKO), who will be attending the hearing as an expert, explains:

“The parliamentary procedure for the TK-NABEG offers the opportunity to improve the law in key areas. In its current form, the TK-NABEG is largely ineffective. It lacks concrete measures to noticeably accelerate the expansion of fiber optics that go beyond mere symbolic policy.

Time is of the essence: According to the latest market figures from BREKO, the German government’s 2030 expansion target will not be met. In order to turn the TK-NABEG into a genuine expansion acceleration law that provides incentives for further investment in network expansion, fundamental adjustments and additions are necessary.

The “overriding public interest” in the TK-NABEG must apply to both fiber optic and mobile expansion. The current planned preferential treatment of mobile expansion is an objectively unjustifiable unequal treatment at the expense of fiber optic expansion. Fiber optic expansion needs to be given top priority if Germany wants to achieve its expansion targets and remain internationally competitive.

In addition, a regulation should be included in the TK-NABEG to ensure that Deutsche Telekom switches off its DSL networks wherever fiber is available nationwide – including in the expansion areas of its competitors. The TK-NABEG must also formulate measures against Deutsche Telekom’s strategically destructive dual fiber-optic expansion, as this continues to represent a key obstacle to expansion.”

A detailed BREKO statement on the questionnaire for the public hearing “Telecommunications Network Expansion Acceleration Act” can be found here.