The German Broadband Association BREKO e.V. supports today’s decision by the Federal Network Agency to set the fees for access to the local loop (local loop, “last mile”) for the next 10 years. Previously, the approval periods were usually two to three years.

“By approving the fees for access to the local loop for what is certainly the last time, the Federal Network Agency is taking account of the ongoing migration process from copper to fiber optic networks and creating long-term legal certainty for the consumers of this central copper-based upstream service provided by Telekom,” says BREKO Managing Director Dr. Stephan Albers, commenting on the decision. Albers continues: “However, it is now important that the authority also takes the next step quickly and creates long-term planning security for the companies expanding fiber optic networks, which is absolutely necessary for an accelerated expansion of the fiber optic networks. To this end, it must work together with the industry in a transparent process to develop a concept that regulates the key issues relating to the migration from copper-based networks to fiber optic networks, such as the available upstream services, the migration processes and periods and the distribution of migration costs. This is already being done by regulatory authorities in other European countries, such as France and the UK, whose approaches should serve as an example for Germany.”

By setting the fees at approximately the current level for the long term, the Federal Network Agency is also addressing the concerns of local loop customers that the fees could rise significantly due to the falling purchase volumes for copper-based wholesale services as a result of the increasing migration to fiber optic networks.

Background:

With this decision, the Federal Network Agency is regulating the wholesale fee that competitors must pay to Telekom for the use of the local loop. Almost 4 million copper local loops are affected.[1] The Federal Network Agency last regulated the fees in 2019 and set a monthly fee of €11.19 for the use of the copper pair at a main distribution frame (HVt-TAL) and €7.05 for the use of the copper pair at a cable distribution frame (KVz-TAL).

The fee decision now made by the Federal Network Agency has two stages. In the first stage for the period from 01.07.2022 to 30.06.2027, the authority has set a fee of € 10.65 (HVt-TAL) or € 6.92 (KVz-TAL). In the second stage for the period from 01.07.2027 to 30.06.2032, € 11.08 for the HVt-TAL and € 7.20 for the KVz-TAL will apply.

Telekom had originally applied for fees of € 12.15 (HVt-TAL) and € 8.25 for the KVz-TAL for a shorter period in this procedure in January, but then changed the application at the end of March to the fees that have now been approved.

[1] Status at the end of 2020, taken from the BNetzA annual report of 19.05.2021 p. 56.