Bonn, 16.08.2022 The German Broadband Association (BREKO) issues the following press statement on the principles published today by the Federal Network Agency for determining affordable prices for telecommunications services in connection with the right to be supplied with telecommunications services:

“A technology-neutral view of average prices for both telecommunications services and the necessary connection falls short and does not take into account the existing technological differences. This leads to a disadvantage for companies that would build fiber optic connections and provide corresponding Internet access products in order to implement the right to be supplied with telecommunications services, as the implementation of a fiber optic connection is significantly more cost-intensive than other technological solutions, especially in rural areas. A differentiated view would also be justified because citizens receive a significantly higher-quality and future-proof service with a fiber optic connection than is the case with other Internet access technologies. It remains to be seen to what extent the Federal Network Agency’s promised consideration of regional particularities will lead to an improvement for companies expanding fiber optic networks.

The technology-neutral consideration of average prices also rules out the inclusion of satellite internet to ensure basic internet coverage from the outset – at least with regard to low-Earth or particularly high-performance satellite networks such as Starlink. This is all the more critical because Starlink’s satellite internet could provide citizens with significantly higher bandwidths than the legally required minimum bandwidths within a very short time.”