EU Digital Networks Act: Fair competition in fibre and mobile roll-out needs action instead of words
21.02.2024
Brussels/Bonn, 21 February 2024 Today, the European Commission presented its White Paper on a "Digital Networks Act" (DNA). Dr Stephan Albers, Managing Director of the German Broadband Association (BREKO), comments as follows:
"The European Commission wants to support the fibre and mobile network roll-out in Europe by strengthening the telecommunications industry. That's a good thing. Reduce bureaucratic hurdles, improve the framework conditions for private investment: The White Paper’s key ideas point into the right direction. Now it is crucial that the next Commission implements these ideas in such a way that fair competition is strengthened and additional incentives for a rapid fibre roll-out are created, for example by including telecommunications networks in the EU taxonomy. Fair competition is not created by announcements, but by decisive action.
BREKO welcomes the fact that the European Commission attaches great importance to the issue of "copper-fibre migration". Switching off copper networks as quickly as possible is both an important incentive for the fibre roll-out and a necessity to improve sustainability and efficiency. The Commission has recognised what is important here and is sending a clear signal to EU member states: National regulatory authorities must prevent copper network operators with significant market power (SMP) from strategically using copper switch-off to hinder and squeeze out competitors. This means that copper networks have to be switched off regardless of which company built a fibre network in the respective area. SMP operators must not be allowed to play any strategic games.
The fact that the European Commission has identified the strategic duplication (“overbuild”) of fibre networks as a key obstacle to investment should motivate German decision-makers to finally take appropriate countermeasures.
However, Brussels is overlooking fundamental differences between individual member states in some aspects: The fragmentation of the German fixed network market is certainly not a cause of a lack of investment. The opposite is the case: Deutsche Telekom's competitors really got the fibre roll-out rolling in Germany with their investments. Such national characteristics are part of the EU's identity and must be taken into account, instead of ignoring them in favour of a uniform legal and regulatory framework."
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About BREKO
As the leading fiber association with more than 490 member companies, Bundesverband Breitbandkommunikation e.V. (German Broadband Association, BREKO) successfully promotes competition in the broadband market. Its members are committed to future-proof fibre and currently implement 67 percent of fibre connections to buildings and homes. The more than 240 telecommunications network operators organised in the association supply both urban and rural areas with future-proof fibre connections. In 2022 they invested a total of € 4 billion. More information at brekoverband.de/en.