European fibre roll-out needs strong competition: BREKO's demands for the 2024 European elections

Berlin/Brussels, June 6, 2024 With a view to the European elections on June 6-9, the German Broadband Association (BREKO) calls for stronger competition in the telecommunications market to achieve the EU's connectivity goals.

Lisia Mix, Head of National and European Public Affairs at BREKO: “Over the next few years, European telecommunications policy will have a decisive impact on whether the EU achieves its connectivity goals and whether a sustainable digital infrastructure is created for the coming decades. Full fibre coverage is an indispensable basis for the successful digitalization of the European economy and society. “

In essence, the German fibre association has five demands:

1. Ensure fair competition:
   The great diversity of companies within the European telecommunications market should be considered as a strength and not be sacrificed to benefit a few large corporations. After all, it is precisely the competitors of the incumbents that are driving the fibre roll-out. Only based on fair competition can they provide innovative solutions and high-quality services to citizens. “So far, there are no valid arguments as to why a more consolidated telecommunications market with a few large players should lead to more investment,” states Mix.
    
2. Strengthen fibre roll-out and sustainability through rapid copper-to-fibre migration:
   The rapid switch-off of legacy copper networks is an important milestone to support the fibre roll-out and at the same time reduce the ICT sector's electricity consumption. However, copper network operators must not be allowed to use this transition from DSL to fibre to transfer their existing market power to the fibre network. To prevent this, the EU must, as already announced in the European Commission’s White Paper on “How to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs”, ensure that national regulators guarantee a competition friendly switch-off process.
    
3. Regulation as the basis for effective competition:
   European telecommunications regulation should continue to promote competition and encourage investment in fibre networks. In view of the incumbents’ continued significant market power, a complete transition from the established ex-ante regulation to ex-post regulation (“regulation light”) would not be expedient at present.
    
4. No distortion of competition through “fair share” payments:
   Requiring large tech companies to contribute to the costs of rolling out fibre networks could further accelerate deployment. Should the next European Commission consider such a regulation, it would have to be implemented in a way that safeguards fair competition in the telecommunications market. A solution that relies on individual agreements between network operators and large tech companies would put small and medium-sized telecommunications companies at a severe disadvantage and weaken the fibre roll-out’s overall momentum.
    
5. Use the upper 6 GHz frequency band for gigabit Wi-Fi:
   A smart frequency policy should be in line with the roll-out of fibre networks. The 6 GHz frequency band can transmit multi-gigabit speeds. To ensure that the speeds brought to buildings and homes via fibre can reach users, even when many devices are simultaneously connected to Wi-Fi, it is important that the upper 6 GHz band remains available, and is not reserved exclusively for 5G.

Together with other European industry associations, BREKO has formulated further demands on future European telecommunications policy in the “European Election Paper 2024” of the European Local Fibre Alliance (ELFA), which is available for download here: https://www.e-lfa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ELFA_European-Election-Paper-2024_FINAL.pdf

All news from category Press releases